


Danganronpa: Turn Back the Pendulum

by KirigiriRamen



Series: DANGANRONPA: ANGEL SURVIVORS [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa Zero, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Dystopia, Fluff, Future Foundation life, Gen, Multi, Naegiri - Freeform, Progresses in Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-01-17 17:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1395688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirigiriRamen/pseuds/KirigiriRamen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to Danganronpa: Angel Survivors<br/>The six survivors of the school life of mutual killing are left to fend for themselves in the Monoworld.<br/>Naegi Makoto feels insecure about his ties with Kirigiri, but he's quite sure she doesn't feel the same.<br/>Will cover the gaps between DR, SDR2, and what happens afterwards.<br/>Spoilers for all Danganronpa series (DUH)</p><p>UPDATED 6th AND 7th Chapter 13/9/14</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Exodus after Exodus

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. It's finally out.  
> It is so stressful thinking out the entire plot about what happens and how it would connect to Angel Survivors, it seriously gives me a headache.  
> BUT I DID IT! XD  
> BTW, if you haven't started reading Angel Survivors, you're welcome to try reading it as well.  
> Thanks, and may the journey begin.

_The pendulum...heads in an unfamiliar direction_

_The saga continues to unfold right before our very eyes. But for the time being Father Time takes us back..._

_To a brief moment in time, opening the window to not all but just enough, highlighting over key moment..._

_What many have tried to keep from the public eye...and now what many in the public would come to know._

********************

HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY

"Well, I'm glad that was over." Hagakure exhaled.

"Hmph. To think it was merely an amalgamation of all the previous executions, does the mastermind have no creativity whatsoever?" Togami scoffed.

"Hey. That was 6 punishments in a row. That was already overkill." Asahina remarked.

"To be honest, I think she rather enjoyed it." Kirigiri mused. "Until the end, that is."

"Gyahahahahahaha!!" Genocider rocked her head back in laughter. "Only bone to pick clean is the fact she didn't turn into butter...MAJOR LETDOWN. One piece here, one piece there, then splattered everywhere in to a kajillion smithereens? Crowd pleaser for sure."

The 6 made their way out of the courtroom, into the monotonous din of the elevator, as it ascended far away from the carnage below.

"To think we're finally leaving this place." Aoi whispered.

"I don't think I can ever forget this." Hagakure frowned.

"And I don't intend to." Togami pushed up his glasses. "I'm going to remember everything, every day of my life, until the day the Togami Conglomerate is restored to its rightful place."

"What, you're going to forget about it after everything's back to normal for you?" Naegi sharply turned.

"Don't be ridiculous. Things will never return to what they were before, but when the Togami empire is once again constructed, and it will, every day you shall remind me when you work under me."

"I don't believe it." Aoi shook her head. "His ego was just in shambles a few minutes ago."  

_Ding_

The elevator opened, and they exited the plush red doors. The halls were as eerily silent as they were before, but now it seemed... _emptier?_ Not quite.

"Right. I'm all for going to Kitchen one more time and stock up a little bit on food." Aoi pumped her fists.

"No. They're easily perishable." Kirigiri shook her head. "I remember seeing some rations in the Storage room above, we can bring those."

"Rations?" Togami was taken aback. "Well, I suppose for a few days such fare is acceptable, at least."

"If they're no objections, we shall meet at the entrance hall in 10 minutes. Do your remaining business before that." With her usual blunt attitude she left the 5 of us alone once more.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to get a snack! One more bowl of Tonkotsu should do the trick!"

"I'll join you, Asahina-chi!" Hagakure hastily ran after her. A beat of awkward silence ensued as it set in that Togami, Genocider and Naegi were the only people left in the hall.

"So what now, darling? An exhibitionist threesome with Makomichi?" Genocider lulled.

"Disgusting. I'll get a book." Togami turned on his heel and stalked away, Genocider trailing behind him.

Adrenaline still coursing through his blood, Naegi took a sweeping glance of the parameter.

_Has it really been just two weeks?_

It seemed just yesterday that he and Sayaka looked for weapons in self-defense, that he watched Oowada and Ishimaru's standoff in the sauna, that he watched Oogami and Monokuma’s fight in the Gym, that he fell through the chute into the garbage room below, that Kirigiri soon followed suit...

_Oh yeah. That was a day ago, come to think of it._

Fatigue began to set in as the adrenaline wore off, and he stifled a huge yawn as he stretched.

 _SHSL Hope._ The new title bestowed upon him during the climax of the trial bore a certain sense of grandeur. It was vague, hence powerful, yet he was still unsure whether he truly liked such a responsibility.

_No. It doesn_ _’_ _t matter whether I like it. I_ _’_ _ll still set things back where they were._

He aimlessly drifted up the stairs, brushing off the matter off his mind. Almost immediately, a new one replaced it, one that’s been nagging slightly for the past few days.

Well, to call it a problem wouldn’t be exactly right.

_Kirigiri-san._

For the past few weeks he’d known her (disregarding the 2 years they had supposedly spent together), he had steadily nurtured a strong… bond? Attachment? Words always seemed to fail him when he tried describing his relationship with her. Most were a tad too strong, whilst a select few were so underwhelming that even he had to beg to differ.

“Apathetic.” He tried again as he continued in his ascent. “Non-existent, Businesslike, passive, unconcerned, sympathetic, pitiful, dysfunctional… or perhaps One-sided? Now that’s just morbidly depressing.” He clutched his face in exasperation.

 _She saved me._ He reminded himself. _That should say something._

 ** _No. Anyone with half a moral conscience would do that._** The cynic in him rebutted.

_It was my decision to stay silent._

**_She wanted you to help her survive the trial. What else could she possibly be asking for?_ **

_She_ _’_ _s not like that!_

**_She views you as an expendable._ **

_Whether or not I stood silent would not change a thing. Alter Ego would have saved her as well._

**_That_ ** **_’_ ** **_s only a hypothetical argument!_ **

The two voices in his head continued their bickering until he realized his legs had carried himself to the 4th floor. As if instructed by an invisible entity, he navigated himself through the halls and found himself again in front of the steel doors.

Bracing himself, he pushed the door open, and the chills enveloped him once more, but even this seemed to be only temporary, for the air conditioning had also stopped working. Brushing aside the thought on what this would mean for the corpses inside the 9 compartments, he stopped at one locker in particular.

Sayaka Maizono

SHSL IDOL

CAUSE OF DEATH: BLOOD LOSS, STOMACH WOUND

The boy silently stood before the locker as the memories one by one flooded back. Fantasies about their future that never was, that they would stand together by the school gate one more time, that they would fight despair together in the outer world, that he would see her hope, her smile once more.

Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out to the handle, his sweat easily distinguishable from cold metal.

“It’s more real to me here than if I saw her again.” He suddenly heard himself say; and the fear that the last shadow of reality should lose its edge kept his hand rooted to the handle as the minutes succeeded the other.

He sighed unevenly, and with each breath the fantasies dissolve into the freezing air.

Finally, as if on cue, he let it go, and walked back alone out of the lab.

**********************

Kirigiri rummaged the boxes, taking out package after package of MREs into a small duffel bag.

_"I don't care if you bastards go on with that Hope obsession you seemed to have developed. But you should prepare yourselves. From now on Despair will stand in your way time after time. No matter where you go...no matter where you try and hide, they're the front and back of the same coin, you know... Whenever there's hope, there's almost certainly despair."_

_Despair will stand in my way._ She paused whilst holding a pack of beef stew. _SHSL Despair, perhaps?_

Still mulling over the possibilities of Junko’s final speech, she zipped the duffel bag and with great effort slung it over her shoulders. The force caused her to nearly lose balance, and a small photograph dropped out of her pocket.

Kirigiri’s expression soured slightly. The decision to bring the photograph of her and her father was… debatable. Her feelings regarding that man would likely never be truly grasped.

As she bent over her gloved hand met another. Kirigiri looked up and the green eyes of Makoto Naegi stared back. Almost instantly the worries in her head seemed to shrink back, something she found annoying… yet perplexing.

“Thought I’d check on you.” He smiled nervously, his eyes still trailing on the photograph.

She hastily took back the photograph and tucked it back into her coat pocket.

“You don’t have to hide it, you know.” His voice strains a little. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“… I know.” She tucks her hair behind her ear as she looked away.

“But… I’m glad in a way, knowing you’re not looking away from the past.”

“What?” Her face falls back into her normal state of impassivity.

“Uh… It’s just what I think, but doesn’t moving on require us not to ignore the past? I mean, blindly tumbling towards the future, that’s just calling for the entire cycle to repeat itself.”

Kirigiri stood in wonder at him. _It_ _’_ _s these small ideas that make him who he is._

“What big ideas you have, Naegi-kun.” She pointed out.

“That’s not what I was trying to achieve- it just came out.” He shrugged.

“Just kidding.” Kirigiri’s lips parted to reveal a small fraction of a smile. “You’re right, of course. But forgiving my father is another matter entirely.”

Kirigiri checked her watch. “Time to go.”

Naegi smiled, and there it is again: its radiant purity lights even the darker corners of my mind.

“It’s graduation time!”

************************

_We stood silently in front of the door. We may have still been stunned._ _  
_

_We stood there, as if we were in an epilogue that comes before the ending credits.  Our silence lasted a long while._ _  
_

_But... At long last..._

“We can’t just stand here like that forever…” Once again Kirigiri broke the tension. “We should get going.”

Nodding in understanding, I take out the switch out of my pocket.

“B-But, is this thing really going to work?” Asahina stammered. “Is this really going to open the door?”

“I have no doubt it will, judging from what she said before she died.” Kirigiri dismissed her small qualm. “She said we must leave this school. That we can’t stay here. It was a condition for her death, so this must be the key to escaping this place.”

“But she didn’t say we were going to leave this alive, though.” Hagakure sweated. “That switch could cause this entire place to self-destruct!”

“Yes, that is a possibility.” Kirigiri admitted.

“It is?!”

“Regardless, we cannot stay idle. We must move.” Togami cut in.

“Y-Yeah, I guess…”

“GYAHAHAHAA! No need to worry! If something happens to Byakuya-sama, I’ll-“

Genocider gave a violent sneeze.

“Huh? W-What happened to our school life? W-Where’s the mastermind?” Fukawa emerged from her slumber.

“Oh that? It’s over. We’re leaving.” Asahina shrugged.

“Eh? W-We’re really leaving? We can finally l-leave this place?” She clutched her shoulders, her breaths growing noticeably more ragged and heavy. “And then… I can get together with Byakuya-Sama… And we’ll be blessed with cute little babies!”

“Stop. You’re revolting.” Togami turned away.

“Naegi, let’s go.” Kirigiri steered the subject once more into its original course. “Even if the outside world is in ruins… Even if the outside world has sunk into despair…” At this point she gave a small smile. “As long as there are people like you with me, I look forward to the challenge. I am sure we can do anything.”

Naegi felt a rush of elation at Kirigiri’s words. _She thinks that much of me._ He repeated to himself.

“Right then.” He places his finger on top of the switch.

_Hope is spreading. As long as there_ _’_ _s hope, we can keep moving forward. Hope gives us strength._

_If I have hope, then I move. The world moves._

At once the machine guns shrink away, and the alarm begins to ring. Naegi’s heartbeat increases in time with the rumbling of the door. A crack appears, and sunlight begins pouring in. Blinking in pain, Naegi watches in awe the door slowly rumbles open at a snail’s pace.

Subconsciously, Naegi reached out towards Kirigiri’s hand. Their fingers brush before the two realize.

Flushing in embarrassment, Naegi tries to look impassive as he extends his outstretched hand. Kirigiri looks at him with a touch of amusement, before slipping her gloved hand into his.

They remain linked until the door opens, and they step out into the gate to the future.

HOPE ’ S PEAK ACADEMY: OUTSKIRTS

No amount of mental strength prepared the six from recoiling in shock at the devastation around them. The sky, colored a sulphurous yellow, was cloudless, and the air was laced with the smell of motor oil and bitter almonds. The nearest buildings around them were reduced into rubble, and sparks steadily dripped out of a lamppost. All around them bullet shells, corpses and rubble littered the premises. Trees were withered, and graffiti of Monokuma were plastered onto the walls.

Fukawa fainted at once.

“Sweet Jesus…” Hagukure whimpered.

 “GYAHAHAHAHA! That’s a new record!” Genocider resurfaced. “I didn’t even have time for a nap! Huh?!” She placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed her surroundings. “HOME SWEET HOME!” She decided.

“I guess finding that donut shop will have to wait, huh.” Asahina’s mild attempt at humor quickly died in the hostile environment.

Togami remained silent as he scrutinized the area, his mind undoubtedly calculating his losses that he had incurred from such a disaster.

“Family. My family.” Naegi whispered.

“You’re not the only one with things they lost.” Togami snapped, though his voice cracked with worry.

“We need to get out of here, far away.” Kirigiri finally spoke, and though her mask remained on, her face turned pale. “We need to find a resistance group, one that still resists despair. Junko said that they still exist.”

“Where the hell do we find that?!” Hagakure exclaimed.

“Fukawa, any ideas?” Togami glared.

“Hmm?! RESISTANCE? Nope! During the time Miss Gloomy got locked up inside before the entire Malefaction, the Malefaction was at its peak! People watch people getting killed as they ate, as people tore out their guts from their chest, that people engaged in self-mutilation… OH I’M SO EXCITED JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!”

“Right, looks like she’s useless. Let’s just keep moving.”  Togami pushed his glasses further up. “We’re bound to meet someone soon.”

********************

After an hour of tireless walking, Hagakure finally relents and decides he needed a break.

“Are you serious? We can’t stop here.” Naegi panted in protest, the duffel bag he took from Kirigiri weighing him down considerably.

“We need to keep moving!” Aoi was taking this like a cakewalk, easily navigating through the devastation with a nimble step.

“Naegi-chi, hate to break it to you, but I’m pooped.” Hagakure wiped his sweat with his coat, long taken off.

"Does anyone know where we are, though?" Togami gave the area a precursory sweep, wiping his glasses for the umpteenth time. It seemed they were in a long parade square, and tattered posters hung on large billboards. A large LCD screen in the very centre was broadcasting the news, the anchor being-

"Monokuma?" Naegi gaped.

"Why is he still Alive?!" Asahina backed away.

"Monokuma is merely an avatar. Many people can use it, but hijacking the airwaves..." Kirigiri mused, she too having taken off her coat.

The remnants of neon lights hung broken at their places, chairs laid outside were scattered throughout the premises, and numerous shops were ransacked or boarded up.

"Oh, Watashi my god! It's Akihabara!" Genocider screamed.

"How the hell do you know that?"

"Tch..." She nibbled her fingernail in frustration. "Many a day I bought my doujinshi from this sacred shrine of entertainment, life without them isn't life! But look at the state of the hellhole! CAPUT! FINITO! Where are the maids? The Yaoi? The pachinkos? The Yaoi? The maid cafes? The cosplayers? The yaoi?"

As Genocider continued ranting, Naegi returned his attention to the television screen, where Monokuma was doing his rendition of Swan lake as the black swan and White swan simultaneously, whilst images of corpses and people getting killed flashed across the screen.

"Really gives the correct atmosphere for this setting, doesn't he?" Joked Hagakure as he gratefully gulped down a bottle of mineral water.

"If we ever plan to leave the city, we need a quicker means of transport." Togami ordered.

On first glance, this appeared not to be a problem, as there were already several cars in the dilapidated area, but on closer inspection they looked damaged beyond repair.

"Nope. Nope. Nope." Asahina inspected the hood of a particularly beat down car. "I don't know the slightest clue what to look for."

"Find an older model, preferably." Togami instructed. "They're easier to break into."

"You know how to hot wire a car?" Naegi sounded impressed.

"Of course not." Togami snapped. "Once again I'm reminded how much plebeians watch the nonsense movies spout about breaking into cars, and how ridiculously easy the make it seem."

"Then how do you propose we use a car, suppose we find one?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

 *************************

"Rejoice, for I have found a working car." Togami announced.

The sky had turned a deep purplish grey as the sun began to set. The 6 had walked for hours, and they seemed to have left Akihabara, yet now not even Genocider could identify where they were.

The good news caused the group to perk up, though, and rejuvenated by the prospect of a good rest, they bounded forward.

"Start it up, then." Hagakure offered.

"That's the problem. I'm not sure whether there would be a car alarm as soon as I break the door open." Togami closed the hood of the silver car and rolled back his sleeves.

"So what? This place' already lawless, just do it!"

"No, Togami has a valid point." Kirigiri cut in. "We can't risk unnecessary attention by the mob."

"EASY PEASY!" Genocider lunged forward, scissors in tow, and stabbed the keyhole with an almighty force.

"What on earth-" Togami began.

"Stop Stop Stop!!!" Hagakure screamed.

However, Genocider paid them no heed as she began slowly twisting the scissors in its place. Slowly, yet surely, her strength won over, and the door unlocked with a pleasant click.

Asahina sat down in shock.

"Did you have any idea how risky that was?!" Togami reprimanded.

"What? It doesn't matter! If there are any people trying to give Byakuya-sama the old one-two, I'll just stab and slash, and problemo solved!" Genocider laughed.

"Well, I can't say I'm not pleased." Kirigiri smiled. "Togami, see if you can get it to start."

"I don't need to follow your orders." He mumbled, but he clambered into the driver's seat and started inspecting the keyhole.

Kirigiri silently watched him work, when she suddenly got the feeling something was off. She looked around, and the reason for her fear suddenly became obvious.

"Where's Naegi-kun?"

"Oh yeah, he said he would take a look around." Hagakure remembered. "He'll be back in no time."

"And you're saying this now?! When did he go?" Kirigiri demanded.

"Uh... About 4 minutes ago, he held back at the previous intersection."

Kirigiri felt an ice cold fear in her gut.

************************

_I used to come here when I was small._

Naegi felt wave after wave of nostalgia arrest him as he explored each mark, each graffitied wall in the small playground. He could clearly remember pushing his sister on the swings,  now hanging haphazardly on only one chain. The blue slide, now scattered with fallen leaves with the texture of sandpaper, had traces of arson in its sides. And the seesaw, now split in two, was covered with a thick layer of red rust.

He climbed the stepladder to the slide and took a glance around. All around him, the sight was no different. Aside from the occasional plastic bag that flew by, the place might as well have been a ghost town, one ruined by a disaster of huge proportions.

Naegi wasn't much of a religious person, but for the first time in his life, his worry was so great he put his hands together and bowed his head.

_Mum, Dad, Komaru, I hope you're safe somewhere._

_Please know that I'm alright... And waiting._

He repeated this small request for a minute, then put his hands down. He picked up his duffel bag once more, and was just about to leave when a sorry sight caught his eye.

10 meters away from the playground square,  a teen only a few years older than him was wheezing in a corner, clothed in rags and injuries, most of which were already turning into scars. His stomach was bare, and the outline of his ribs were clearly visible over the thin cloth.

_Oh God._

**_Terrible isn't it?_ **

_Do you think I should help him?_

**_You should get back to the others quickly, they're expecting you._ **

_He's dying of hunger._ Naegi took another look at the teen.

**_You can't save everyone!_ **

_There's always a someone to begin with._ And with that, Naegi determinedly hopped off the stepladder and cautiously approached the teen.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" He began.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" The teen's eyes flared and hastily backed away, his irises reflecting an amalgamation of hatred, fear and apathy. _Despair._

"It's alright!" Naegi kindly reassured him, hurriedly opening his duffel bag. "Do you want to eat something?" 

At the mention of the word 'eat', the male's face lights up with longing, yet immediately phases back into the mask of impassivity.

"Whatever." He spat.

At this, Naegi carefully extracted a package of Chicken Fajita and a bottle of water, and after crouching down, carefully set it in front of the hungry teen. 

"I'm not sure how you operate this, but instructions should be inside." He laughed nervously, but the teen remained stoic as he eyed the duffel bag.

Naegi zipped up the bag, and stood up. "Thank you." He added after a thought.

The teen looked up.

"...What?"

"Thank you. Generally when people receive something out of goodwill, they say thank you." Naegi couldn't help adding a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Having left that piece of wisdom, Naegi turned and left him alone once more.

"Yeah, sorry about that." The teen seemed to had gotten up, and started walking towards him at a brisk pace. "Guess you got a lot more in that little bag of yours, huh?!" 

The tone in his voice was clear as day, and Naegi whirled around in time to see the teen lunge towards him. 

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Naegi hastily avoided the tackle, but the feral teen only went berserk, and charged towards him with renewed vigor. Left with no other choice, Naegi swung the bag in an attempt to fend off the attacker, and scored a clean hit on the side of his face. 

Dazed, the teen staggered back, his eyes burning with paranoia and hatred. 

Naegi wet his lips nervously, awaiting the next attack.

_ Guys. Where are you??? _

The situation worsened when the teen extracted a corroded knife. Filled with the surge of confidence that a weapon gave him, he rushed forward knife in hand. 

_ Well, I can't do much against that _ . Narrowly avoiding the stab, Naegi turned on his heel and ran.

**_ Clunk. _ ** ****

For a moment, Naegi was airborne. Then he crashed into the ground, tripping over the leg of the withered husk of a corpse. _Shit, shit, SHIT!_ He hastily clambered up, but it was too late.

**_ STAB. _ ** ****

Naegi screamed in pain. The knife dug into his left arm, and blood began streaming out profusely. 

"Not so superior now, aren't you?!" The teen laughed maniacally as he kicked Naegi to the ground, still clutching his arm in agony. "'S'matter? I didn't rip your tongue out, did I?" He took the duffel bag from Naegi and slung it on his shoulder.

"You should have left me alone." The teen muttered as he raised the knife one final time, and at that moment Naegi tasted despair, before it morphed into something much more serene. _What is this feeling?_

**_ SHIEK. _ ** ****

A sputter of blood rained upon Naegi. He looked up to see a single pair of scissors impale itself into his attacker's gullet. The bitter taste of bile was palpable in Naegi's mouth, and he hurriedly forced it down as the teen clutched at his throat. Finally, the assaulter toppled over, and after a series of spasms, remained still.

"What the hell, MAKO-PYON?!" 

Genocider Syo hurried over and kicked the body to its side.

"Chimichangas! This has got to be **the** ugliest pig I've ever killed, and it wasn't even for my White knight!" She redirected her attention to the wounded Naegi. "What the fuck did you do that could piss this guy off?!" 

"I didn't do anything to offend him!" Naegi got up with great effort.

"He certainly didn't attack you for nothing." 

Naegi turned to the new speaker with dread. Arms folded, Kirigiri briskly walked over to the scene. 

"Kirigiri-San." He gulped.

"Genocider, go back to Togami and tell them he's alright, and we're coming."

"Way ahead of you." She pulled back the pair of scissors from the back of the neck and rushed off at breakneck speed.

Kirigiri exhaled, and focused her cold lavender eyes back to Naegi. 

"Well?" She intoned.

Naegi gulped. "I'm sorry for wandering off."

"Why would you do something so stupid?" Her gaze remained unforgiving.

"I just thought that place... was familiar and my feelings got the better of me." Naegi sighed.

Kirigiri hopped over a piece of rubble. "What exactly happened with you and that man back there?" 

_ Can't hide it anymore. _

"I just saw that person... Wheezing in a corner, and he looked pretty thin and weary from hunger, then I decided to go give him food. Then he attacked me- no no no, that's wrong. Oh dear how do I phrase this..." Naegi shifted the sling of the bag from his wounded shoulder to his right. "I said something that set him off."

"And what was that?"

"I told him it would be polite to say thank you." Naegi finished lamely.

Kirigiri stopped and stared at him with such incredulity that even Naegi felt surprised. 

"Kirigiri-San?"

"Why would you say that?"

"It just slipped out. And then I think he got greedy and tried to steal the duffel bag. I hit him rather hard with the bag, and that just got him mad and he took out the knife. You know the rest."

Kirigiri sighed. "Naegi-kun, some people really don't like to be helped." 

"But-" Naegi protested. "All I did was try and help him. There's no other intent!"

"I know, but we're dealing with a world ravaged by Despair. You tried to help a stranger for no reason. What do you think he thinks of that?"

"Kindness doesn't a reason. That's why it's called being kind instead of a game of quid pro quo." Naegi complained.

_ How do I explain this to him...  _ Kirigiri thought.

"Naegi-kun, I could see the goodwill even if he didn't. But remember: to be kind without any reason is to be arrogant. Being offered goodwill makes you feel inferior, unless the person helping you understands you well."

Naegi stopped short.

"I didn't understand you well then, and I still don't understand you today. Yet I... tried to be kind to you, to befriend you, and you didn't stab me in the arm. Are you saying I make you feel inferior?"

With these words he might as well have slapped her in the face. Kirigiri fl ushed angrily behind her mask.

"That's... because I also wanted to be kind. Polite. Courteous." She finally answered. "I still have morals, and..." She paused, "no." She decided. "Someone like you will never make me feel inferior."

She looked around. "We need to hurry, keep applying pressure to the wound."

"Wait I still-"

"I've talked enough." Kirigiri said flatly. "Togami managed to start the car. We need to go." With that, she quickened her pace, not bothering to wait for Naegi as he resignedly hurried after her.

_ What did I do to piss her off? It's not like I kept something secret from her like last time. _

As Naegi pondered over his words in dismay, the stab wound began to smart, and was becoming increasingly painful over time, and the skin surrounding the wound had turned a hot pink. He looked in front. Kirigiri was already more than 7 meters away, and she showed no sign of stopping as Naegi panted with effort. 

That aching feeling in his heart intensified.

_ Does Kirigiri only see me as an ally? _


	2. Extortion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD WHAT A WEEK!  
> First, The world god only knows is about to end.  
> Then Liar Game breaks out its hiatus with Human Auctioning as the final round.  
> And all the fiasco of April fools.  
> And of course Hell's Kitchen starting again.  
> Then Cytus's Chapter K.  
> Extra long chapter because YOU DESERVE IT!  
> In which Togami gets served. Repeatedly.  
> And Kirigiri Hesitates over a decision that really she shouldn't hesitate about, and Naegi angsts over.

“Oh god that’s just disgusting.” Asahina gagged.

The six were assembled in the newly started car, with Togami in the driver’s seat, Kirigiri up front and the other 4 squashed at the back, with Asahina sitting on Hagakure’s legs to save room.

“Be careful not to contaminate it.” Togami warned as he manoeuvred the car over a particularly large pile of rubble. “Keep your eyes peeled for a pharmacy for the time being.”

“You’re being surprisingly reasonable, Togami-chi.”

“Practical.” He corrected him. “However I’m not going to stop for him if he dies on us. If it gets worse, we have no choice but to use a tourniquet, so to avoid that scenario, keep applying pressure on the wound.”

“By the way, Naegi-kun.” Asahina dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did something happen between you and Kirigiri?”

Sure enough, Kirigiri was staring determinedly out the window, her stoic demeanour discouraging conversation.

“Asahina, your guess is as good as mine.” He sighed.

“You must have done something wrong.” She insisted.

“I think I may have said something that set her off.” Closing the conversation, he wiped his blood soaked hand onto the underside of the seat, before hurriedly plastering it back onto the wound over his jacket.

“Oi. Makarena.” Genocider spat. “So let me get things straight. You helped a guy, and he stabs you for it?!”

“Something like that.”

“Hmm.” She growled. “Even to a murderer like me, that’s cold.”

“Actually, he was just naïve.” Kirigiri interjected.

 _Honestly, when she’s angry she acts half her age._ Naegi thought as the car lurched to a stop.

“ _Despair Pharmacy._ ”  Togami pointed out the window. “How marvellous. Naegi, get out, that’s your cue.”

“Are you serious? We’re letting him take medicine from a pharmacy ransacked by people afflicted by Despair?” Asahina paled.

“What’s the worse that can happen?” Togami snapped.

“Gee… let me think… Suppose the liquid in codeine cough syrup was laced with a healthy dose of cyanide.”

“He doesn’t need cough syrup.”

“Same difference! Fine. Broken glass in every bandage.”

“He is not blind, he won’t actually apply that.” Togami peered at Naegi from the corner of his eyes. “At least, I think he won’t.”

“Beehives.”

“Then just run away.”

“Aliens!” Hagakure offered.

“…”

“I’m Serious!”

“Fine. Genocider will accompany him, happy?”

Nodding in understanding, Naegi and Genocider gingerly stepped out of the car. To his surprise, Kirigiri exited the car as well.

“Huh? Does Miss Detective want to join in as well?” Genocider cocked her head to the side.

“There may be something worth investigating.” She shrugged.

**************************

_Knock Knock Knock._

“Merry Christmas little bitches. We know that you’re in there, and that you’re all alone.” Genocider crooned at the doorway.

“ _Come on kid, open up._ ” She looked back at Naegi and Kirigiri, spaced a metre apart. “It’s _Santa Claus, and his elf!”_ She nodded eagerly to space. “We’re not gonna hurt you! _No, No! We got some nice Christmas presents for you!_ Be a good boy and now open the doooor- CUE THE AIRGUN!” She swiftly dodged the imaginary bullet. Looking at the door in amusement, Genocider’s face shifted.

“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!”  With these words, she kicked the door thrice in swift succession. “AAAH. AAAAH. AAAH.”  She mockingly screamed. Taking out her scissors, she began stabbing the door in the manner of a cat scratching a piece of furniture. Very quickly, a hole in the door was made. Genocider peered in.

“Here’s… JO- HOLY SHIT!” She recoiled as a swarm of flies began buzzing out of the hole.

“Oh dear.” Naegi paled.

“It’s just flies.” She muttered.

“No… If there’re flies, there are most certainly maggots.” Naegi gagged.

“That’s right!” Genocider staggered back, her chest heaving. “Holy crap, it stinks even more than I do when Miss Gloomy doesn’t take a bath for a week!”

“Open the door from the inside.” Kirigiri steeled herself.

“I’m not touching that shit!” She whirled her scissors menacingly.

“Fine. Togami!” Kirigiri called.

“Genocider open the door!” He called back.

“RIGHTO!” Without further hesitation she rolled her sleeves back and stuck her arm into the doorhole and opened the door. In an instant, a foul miasma began seeping out.

Togami rolled up what was left of his window and looked away.

“OI! YOU COMING OR NOT?!” Genocider waved wildly.

“Come on Naegi-kun.” Kirigiri tucked her hair back.

 _No choice, then._ He cautiously entered the pharmacy. Two doctors stared lifelessly out the counter, and maggots burrowed into whatever was left of their flesh. A fly buzzed onto Naegi’s lips, and he hastily spat it out.

“Hmm. OK. One body, one body there.” Genocider alone treated it like a walk in the park. “Shame, this doctor’s actually pretty cute.” She kicked the door to the back room open and whistled. “Didn’t know this joint’s a butchery as well.”

It took a moment for Naegi to understand what she meant.

“May I take a look?” Kirigiri stepped over a spilt medicine bottle and calmly peered into the back room. “Oh… That’s unfortunate.”

“Should I come over?” Naegi managed weakly.

“NO. Stay where you are.” She commanded. “I’ll see what supplies I can get.”

Relieved, Naegi swatted a fly away as he looked more closely at the two corpses. One was in his early 30s, and his mat of brown hair was not enough to mask his peeling skin. The other, presumably his wife, seemed to have a greater amount of flesh decomposed: the stench coming from her seemed to be the worst.

 _God, that’s disgusting._ _Wait._

Naegi looked closer at the object below the counter. _A book._ He carefully extracted it, wary of maggots, and examined it. It was small, and a large amount of pages were torn out.

Interest piqued, he flipped the book open.

 _Blank._ Naegi brushed the book to the final few pages, and finally spots wording. _Now we’re talking._

**Last will and Testament of Who the bloody hell cares**

To Whom It May Concern, knowing nobody will concern,

I lie here, a godless man, awaiting death.

Everyday the flies grow in number.

She said fire will keep them out.

So I burned pages.

It didn’t work.

But she said so.

It’s been nearly a month since we boarded up.

No help has been offered anytime soon.

Despair. Fucking Despair.

Each fucking day that passeS, our hunger grows.

She keeps saying we’ll be ok, it will be over soon.

THIS Wi _IL_ L N _E_ V _ER E_ ND!

Today, she starts eating the cotton swabs in the little box.

She gave all the remaining food to Michael.

But that boy kept on crying over and over.

He just didn’t stop.

He asked for it.

She never recovered from the shock.

The carton of atropine was empty by the time I finished the job.

Now I’m alone.

The flies are everywhere.

Maggots start crawling on my skin. I leave them be.

As I eat, I tell my wife how delicious it was.

The maggots finally finished the meat in the back room today.

You see what you done?!

YOU SEE IT?! HUH?! YOU SEE THIS?!

LOOK UPON YOUR WORK!

AND AFTER I INGEST THIS SHIT, AND I FIND MYSELF IN HELL

I WILL KNOW

**_YOU FUCKING DROVE ME TO THIS._ **

Naegi reread the pages, his fingers feeling the dots when the force of the pencil ripped the pages hard, and felt increasingly sick. Wordlessly, he tore out the final pages and tucked it into his jacket pocket.

_I want to remember this._

“Naegi-kun, I’ve found some Penicillin and Aspirin, along with gauze, but I’m not sure if it’s safe-”

“It is.”  Naegi hollowly answered. “It’s the real deal.”

“I’ll take your word for it, then.” Kirigiri emerged taking two dusty plastic bottles, both filled to the brim with pills, and a bundle of cloth. Her expression softened when she spots Naegi.

“What happened?”

“… I had a reminder.”  

****************************

“Genocider, there’re maggots in your hair.” Togami muttered as the car lurched forward once more.

“Really?! Oh, um silly me, to think Byakuya-sama cares this much about me!”

“So, Naegi. Feeling better?”

“A bit.” Naegi finished applying the roll of cloth onto his arm. “The bleeding’s stopped, but for some reason it’s getting increasingly itchy and dry.”

“Good. That’s the scab forming.” Hagakure nodded sagely.

 _Like hell._ Naegi thought as he looked out the window. Though it was true the wound had stopped bleeding, a curious sensation had overwhelmed his body, and he felt increasingly light headed. He opened his collar in his desperation, but it did little against the heat.  
Night had fallen outside the car, giving the city an eerie outlook. It was almost ridiculous how much darkness heightened your sense of paranoia. Every flutter of movement outside seemed to be a threat, and the fact that the headlights were busted didn’t help as well.

“In the meantime you guys get some sleep.” Togami informed the others. “When it’s time you wake up, we’ll sleep and you’ll take first watch.”

“Will you be alright?” Naegi frowned.

“This is nothing for me. It’ll be fine.”

 _Yeah, I probably can trust him._ Naegi thought as he descended into a deep slumber.

**********************

_I lurch awake in confusion. Blinking hard, I look around and find myself in the cafeteria, the other classmates gathered as well._

_“Listen up, it’s finally happening.” A purple haired man paces nervously up front, and somewhere far away the alarms are blaring unnervingly. “I don’t know how or why, but it’s happening.”_

_“You said we would be safe!”_

_“We are, but there’s something very wrong here.” He looks at each of us, and behind that exterior of grim determination, there is a man wading across despair._

_“This situation by itself is abnormal.” He muttered incoherently._

_“Who’s leading them?”_

_“Isn’t that the question of the day?” Kirigiri briskly entered the room and switched on the security feed, and the entire class gapes in horror. Men and women clad in monobear masks were laying siege on the front steps of Hope’s Peak, amongst them a single male figure stood back surveying the chaos._

_“I think you know perfectly well who this person is.” The threat in her voice was obvious as Jin Kirigiri stared at the monitor without expression. Finally he cleared his throat._

_“All of you stay on the alert. Questions? Dismissed, then.”_

_As I accompanied Sayaka out of the cafeteria, Kirigiri and her father stalked out to the main hall. Curiosity won over in the end, and I carefully followed them as they walked._

_“…I cannot confirm it’s him.”_

_“Really? Because considering the circumstances, the probability of him as the mastermind is rather high, isn’t it?”_

_“No, he’s not the mastermind.” Jin furiously shook his head, and his weariness seemed to cause him to lose his youthful radiance as he turned back towards Kirigiri. “He wasn’t like that before.”_

_“… Before SHSL Despair, you mean?”_

_He gives a silent nod._

_“The problem is we don’t even know who the real enemy is.”_

_“…I have my suspicions.” She says at last._

_“Who?” He asked a little too eagerly._

_“Do you really think I’ll tell you?”_

_“We’ve been through this already.” His tone grew exasperated. “The past is the past.”_

_“Why do people keep saying that and expect things to be remedied in a flash?”_

_The two descended into the sound of silence once more._

_“I don’t know what to tell you.” He breaks the ice. “I apologize, you don’t accept it. I try moving on as if it’s over, you don’t accept it either. The fact is, you’re not giving me an exit route.”_

_“So you notice.” She smirked._

_“Kyouko-“_

_“It’s Kirigiri.” She snapped, but for a moment her cold exterior shatters. “I shall not be addressed in that name by you ever again.” Leaving those last words of wisdom, she stalked away. For a moment he stands shaking, but finally he collects himself and sighed unevenly._

_“You can come out now, Naegi-kun.”_

_I emerged from the shadow with a heart of guilt and apprehension._

_“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”_

_“I know.”_

_“Principal, just asking: why did you leave her?”_

_“… It was for the best.”_

_“The best judged from what time? What circumstance? Do they still apply today?”_

_“You’re showing a lot of interest in our family affairs as of late, Naegi.”_

_I blushed, but soldier on._

_“That’s because… I want to help in whatever way I can.”_

_“No.” He shook his head sadly. “Don’t bother. Your bridges with her will just crumble to ash as well when she finds you snooping in her family matters.”_

_“Family matters?” My eyes narrow. “Don’t you mean **your** matters?”_

_“… Yes, that especially.”_

_“She rarely shows that much hate towards others.”_

_“Yes, that honour is mine to bear.” He chuckled darkly._

_“It’s not funny.” I sighed._

_“Yes.” He turned to the entrance hall doorway and sighed. “But there’s nothing remotely humorous to laugh about, unless at our own expense, is there?”_

_*********************_

"Well, that's it then. It's dead." Togami finally removed his seat belt.

"We're out of gas?" Hagakure's eyes widen. "Now what?"

"We are not finding another car." Togami listened to the engine die. "I propose we quickly search for shelter for the night."

"Sounds good!" Asahina yawned.

The six clambered out the wreck of the car, and squinted in the darkness for somewhere to board up. A sheen of sweat covered Naegi's face and drenched his shirt as he was bombarded by the cool winds of the night.

"I think I see a metro station." Kirigiri reported after a while.

"Think the trains still work?" Hagakure scratched his chin.

"What do you think?"

The 6 clambered towards the entrance of the subway leading underground. Large barriers up to their waist were arranged haphazardly, but a few light bulbs flickered unpleasantly, providing their sole source of illumination.

"No good, I can't even see what station this is." Naegi shook his head after standing on tiptoe. "The sign's marred with something."

"It looks like we can stay here for the night. Everyone get in." Kirigiri easily clambered over the barricade. "Pass the duffel bag." Naegi did so in relief.

With slight effort, Naegi managed to get himself across, and the six walked down the steps with mounting excitement.

"You know, the only time I've been in a subway station was to sample the finest Sushi in the world." Togami inspects the graffitied walls in disdain.

"The finest sushi in the world's in a subway station?" Asahina frowned. Togami took her stunned silence for disgust and saw fit to continue.

"I was just as appalled as you are. I would have the chef hired, but the old man refused, hence I had to come all the way down from my limousine to sample his food." Togami closed his eyes in nostalgia. "It took 3 months for a reservation, even when I told him who I was on the phone. I still don't understand why the best sushi bar in the world has only 10 seats."

"What did it taste like?" Asahina was close to drooling.

"The octopus was superb. How he managed to achieve such a texture with that eludes me. Eventually, I found out he and his apprentices massaged the octopus for 50 minutes before serving. The chu-toro, sublime. Just the right amount of fat, not to overwhelm your palate but beautifully complement the lean meat of the tuna itself. The rice however was the real star." Togami momentarily pauses as if tasting the white pearls in his mouth. "It is generally accepted that a sushi chef spends 3 years mastering how to wash and prepare rice, but his rice...made only available to him, that was the unsung hero throughout the meal. Each grain was clearly discernible, all the same size, with exactly the same texture throughout each pearl."

"Togami-chi, please stop, or Asahina-chi's going to go absolutely crazy."

"And to end the meal, Tamago. I was never one for it, and it's pedestrian qualities, but that egg had to be one of the finest I had ever eaten. Fish paste blended into the mix, it hit all the right notes. Sweet, savory, umami, it was all there, beautifully orchestrated. It ranked just as high as the 55 minute smoked egg, which I had the pleasure of tasting in Singapore." Togami finished.

"I never went there again."

"What? Why?" Asahina snapped out of her reverie.

"It's just sushi." Togami shrugged. "The head of the Togami Conglomerate is satisfied with whatever excellent food is placed in front of him. That was an experience worth remembering, nothing more, nothing less." He carefully stepped over the husk of a pigeon. "Perhaps he's dead by now." He adds.

"Brrr... Sushi?" Genocider bristled. "That taste of raw meat as the juices dance in your mouth, LIKE HELL! The only raw things I eat are raw meat and raw flesh!"

"Alright, all that talk has gotten me hungry." Asahina wiped the remaining specks of saliva on her chin. "What's on the menu tonight?"

*****************

Togami took a single bite of the Beef Roast with Vegetables and puckered in disgust. "This is unbelievable. There's no taste at all. It's mush. Pass the salt." He finally swallowed.

"Well, soldiers eat these all the time. A single serving contains roughly 1000 calories." Kirigiri was eating her meatballs with marinara sauce without protest.

"No wonder she liked Rations." Naegi suddenly gasped.

"What?"

"Before she died, I gave Enoshima a diamond and she didn't like it that much. I gave her a ration, and she liked it so much it surprised me. Of course, this is without me knowing she _wasn't_ Enoshima but Ikusaba." Naegi prodded his serving of maple sausage. His appetite was diminishing even before he was served the MRE, but he ate regardless.

"My word. This is battery acid." Togami spat.

"Which one, Togami-chi?"

"The product they call powdered lemonade." He took another drink from the packet, and promptly spat that out as well. "And the iced tea might as well be disinfectant."

"Togami, don't waste food." Asahina had already finished her meal, and was rummaging for the packet of chewing gum.

"Fine. Genocider, drink."

"Ooh! Is my white knight offering her ladyship something to drink? You're such a flirt, Byakuya-sama!" Genocider lulled, and downed the lemonade in a single shot.

"I hope you choke."

"Are you sure there's no curry in that bag of yours, Big Mac?" She threw the drink packet away. Naegi shook his head. "I've got some Tabasco, though."

"Well, I'm not eating this crap." Genocider promptly tore a pepper packet and sneezed.

"What happened? W-Weren't we at school, and then-" Fukawa stuttered.

"It's dinner time. Eat what's in front of you and don't speak." Togami waved a forkful of beef.

"As you wish, Byakuya-sama." Fukawa promptly dove into her brisket.

"Naegi, how's the wound?" Kirigiri had finished her meal.

"It hurts less from the wound now, and more from the area around it, I think?"

"Right. Swallow your medicine at once." She pressed two pills into his hands. "Fair warning, Penicillin doesn't taste very nice."

"Thanks." Bottle at the ready, Naegi popped the two pills in his mouth. _She wasn't kidding. That **is** disgusting. _

"Right." Hagakure stretched. Where are we sleeping?"

"We need to avoid detection." Said Togami, deep in thought. "And the places that come to mind are-“

"The bathrooms." Asahina said immediately.

A single ping of silence rang across the complex.

"Unacceptable." Togami finally ejaculated.

"Togami, don't complain. That might be the safest way." Kirigiri sighed. "Not to mention, I'm not in the mood to walk any further today."

"Fine." Togami fumed. "Then Naegi's taking first watch."

"Wait, why me?!" He protested.

"Simple. You caused the most trouble today, and have already slept quite a while on the car."

"True, but..."

"Naegi, anytime you feel sleepy, just get inside and tell me." Hagakure yawned.

"Alright."

"Good. Now let's get this night over with." Togami discarded the package aside, saving only the small toothbrush and tube of toothpaste.

*********************

The throbbing in the wound had lessened, but a burning in his forehead replaced it. This was a minor inconvenience as Naegi fought against the desire to fall asleep against the Bathroom door.

Once again his thoughts drifted to Kirigiri.

_Do I like Her?_

This was the easier of his array of questions regarding the mysterious girl. Despite his much more friendly relationship with Maizono, he had always felt a stronger desire arise from Kirigiri, who shrunk away from prolonged human contact, though decidedly not out of contempt.

**_Yeah, and Maizono trying to frame you didn't help._ **

_She was in despair._

**_Same difference._ **

_Kirigiri didn't fall into despair. She's strong._

**_That's true. So you like strength?_ **

_I admire it._

**_Admiration doesn't bring forth love, it brings forth respect._ **

_Love can come out in due time._

**_You are a long way off from getting her to agree to be in a relationship with you._ **

_I saved her life, she saved mine. That's a strong bond._

**_The fact is, your relationship has arisen entirely from the school life of mutual killings. If that didn't happen, you two might have never had the relationship in the first place. And she knows it, hence she will never take your feelings seriously._ **

_...I am aware of that._

**_Your only hope is to have a relationship before the entire despair incident, that would incur her sense of responsibility._ **

_I can't do anything about that!_

Naegi's eyes began to droop.

**_Well, then you're pretty much fucked, aren't you?_ **

The silence that followed was punctuated by the gleeful laughter of the demons in his heart.

*******************

Naegi woke up, drenched in sweat, to the sound of slurping in front of him.

" _Zapplesauce._ Applesauce fortified with maltodextrin. Cinnamon flavored." A whimsical voice droned as the slurping paused momentarily. "Now that's just entirely unpalatable."

In his drugged state, Naegi looked through his fogged vision in disbelief. "Ah. You're awake." The voice perked up. "Not looking particularly healthy, but awake. Sorry, hadn't had much to eat, so I'm eating whatever you left over. Now," he lifted up several fingers,"how many fingers am I holding up? To be honest I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I've seen Tsubasa do this regularly so I'd thought I'd at least replicate his methods. Stupid procedure, really. So back to the topic, how many bones are being flexed on my right hand?"

All Naegi could manage was a small groan.

"Correct! No, not really no, but at least you're not a madman. They further support Schopenhauer's view on Solipsism, and I don't particularly like that method of thinking, he wasn't a very nice man in the first place, but you don't know what Solipsism is either, do you?" He leaned back on the rock and continued. "Solipsism is where you believe yourself to be the only being that exists. You are the centre of the world, crudely put. Because of Descartes' famous _I think therefore I am_ it is generally accepted that just by doubting about your own existence you know you truly exist. Other people are merely a figment of your imagination. However, some critics do say that-"

 _Who the hell is this guy?_ As the man continued his lecture with his sole audience, Naegi straightened up to get a better view on the individual. Though not particularly well built, a matted mass of mocha-brown hair was worn on his head, and a small beard was growing out of the otherwise boyish face. His grey eyes twinkled with excitement and curiosity as they darted about. A simple brown jacket and ice-blue jeans formed his apparel, and a small handgun was in its holster on his waist.

"Well to be honest-" the man discarded the sauce wrapper,"I guess food like this is just a form of sustenance... Sustenance... Sustenance... I rather like that word. Makes you feel epic, that you are like a godly being who sees things by their real purpose and not for their worldy enjoyment. _Know ye not that ye are gods!_ That's a repeated motif in many ancient texts questioning the enigma on man's divinity."

"Wait... Who are you?" Naegi croaked.

The man finally stops, and turns to get a better look at Naegi, his eyes a regal grey, radiating a sense of... Mania, perhaps?

"Oh. Do forgive me. I am a member of the resistance group, the Future Foundation. And honestly, you should be lucky Alice didn't find you."

"Is your name Alice?" Naegi's eyes widen.

"Good God, no!" He laughed. "Jolly good fight put up against  Enoshima, I must say, though the overuse of the _sore wa chigau yo_ was a minor nitpick. I mean, what about a 'you've got that right!' every once in a while?  Maybe in the future, then." He stretched leisurely. "I look forward to working with you in the future, Naegi-kun!"

"Right, but I just want your introduction." The pain in his shoulder was becoming unbearable: a sheen of sweat began forming on his face.

"Oh righto." He cleared his throat. "My name is Kazama Yuhara. SHSL Philosopher. Nice to meet you, SHSL Hope."

 **KAZAMA YUHARA** **一马** **信光** **SHSL PHILOSOPHER**

A banner in Naegi's brain seemed to scream **INFORMATION OVERLOAD**.

"You're from... Hope's peak Academy?"

"You can consider me as an Alumnus of sorts. Graduated half a decade ago! Sad thing is most Alumni of Hope's Peak are now six feet under, seeing as we're targeted both sides. However, that's not a problem in the Future Foundation." His tone suddenly becomes serious, and his smile morphs into a hard glare. "So, won't you join us in creating a future shining with hope, Naegi-kun?"

_A future shining with hope?_

As he pondered such an idea, Kazama's eye shift towards the shoulder wound and his eyebrows knit in concern.

"What's that?"

"Oh, stab wound from a random guy that assaulted me."

"May I take a look?" Without waiting for an answer, he gingerly rolled back the sleeve and a day's worth of coagulated blood detached itself from its standing, causing Naegi to let out a gasp of pain. The skin surrounding the stab had turned a blotchy red, and though there was no more pus, Naegi felt a continual throbbing pain emanate from his arm, a pain that seemed to intensify with every minute.

Kazama paled in shock. "Ok, that's just nasty. I don't know what it's called, but one thing's for sure: it's getting worse." He took a long sniff and shuddered. "Thank god for doctors who're willing to look at that."

He quickly took out a walkie talkie and turned the dial. "Rodent, Rapier, hope is restored. I repeat, hope is restored. Requesting immediate evac."

"Roger that." An effeminate voice chirped. "Rhino rumbling over ASAP!"

"Good." Kazama turned off the walkie talkie. "Obamacare." He rolled the word in his mouth. "No such thing of the sort here. By the way, young man, don't get me wrong, I like having an 'o' in the word maneuver. Lovely vowel, it is. I don't like 'i', but as you can so clearly see, I'm no practitioner of illeism. Some people would say it's _moe,_ I find it crude, unbecoming and superfluous."

 _This guy's a very well read cuckoo._ Naegi thought as he weakly observed him take off his brown jacket and draped it across his torso.

"For now, we need the fever to break. So, coat up like a Chinese pancake, be bound like a burrito, twirl like a tuille, and as an etymological sidebar be assured that alliteration is always appreciated. Oh dear, I really am hungry." He clutched his stomach in surprise.

"Wait. What about the others-"

"Other people?" He cocked his head. "Oh, you mean the other survivors. Are they with you or have they all died?"

Naegi's eye involuntarily twitched.

"No, they're fine. They're in the bathroom." Naegi groaned.

"Oh yes, I understand." He nodded sagely in understanding. "Complication in the urinary tract?"

"CHIGAU!" Naegi nearly cried in exasperation. "They slept inside while I kept watch."

"You fell asleep, though. Not exactly the best job done." He tsk-tsked. "Anyway, I think they've slept enough."

He briskly navigated past Naegi and put his ear to the door. Gently opening the door by a sliver, he silently extracted the pistol from his waist.

"N-n-n-n!!!" Naegi sputtered, finally catching on.

"Shhh; I'm about to defy you." He grinned as he twisted the silencer off and pointed the gun upwards.

**BANG!**

**HAGAKURE:** I SURRENDER!

 **FUKAWA:** We're all gonna die!

 **ASAHINA:** _(mumbles indiscreetly)_ Hungyah?

 **BYAKUYA:** Hagakure get your socks out my mouth, or so help me...

 **GENOCIDER:** GYAHAHAHAHAHAH! Your favorite serial killer has awoken and- who the fuck's that?!

**Kirigiri: ...**

The 5 groggily stared at the new visitor with caution and apprehension, as he good-naturedly stashed the gun back into his belt.

"Good morning. Sorry for interrupting your beauty sleep, but it has come to my attention that your dear Naegi-kun needs immediate medical attention, and unfortunately none of you are practitioners of the salubrious art of proctology."

"Might I ask who do you think you are?" Togami spat, visibly annoyed, rubbing his neck in pain.

"Who I _think_ I am? What's the point of asking such a question? Phrase your curiosity correctly, Togami-kun!" Kazama flippantly corrected him.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION." Genocider bristled.

"Good grief, you seemed so much more approachable on Television. Objects in the television _are_ closer than they appear, by a mile!" He shook his head. "My name's Kazama Yuhara, a member of the Resistance group, the Future Foundation."

"Resistance!" Asahina's eyes light up.

"Hallelujah! Thank god you're here, we-”

"-don't believe a single thing you're saying." Togami interrupted. "It's all very well to say you're a part of a resistance group, where's the proof?"

"Kirigiri-San, I think he means well..." Naegi managed.

"Right now, I'm afraid what he's saying is right." Kirigiri shook her head. "You'll have to give us some concrete information."

"Information?" Kazama repeated. "Unfortunately if I say too much, and you end up not joining us, I'll be in an awfully large pickle, don't you agree? Alice will have my head."

"Then just give the correct information. Be precise!" Togami snapped.

"I'm afraid I can't, my daily speech is a vichyssoise of verbiage, most verbose in nature and I can only let out too much or none at all." Kazama grinned.

"Can somebody explain to me what the fuck did Jacket just say?" Genocider turned in confusion.

"Stop saying that like it's a good thing." Togami stood up, and stared down at the older man. "If you don't tell us anything, you can't stop us from leaving."

Kazama promptly selected a small pile of rubble to stand on, and the two were level once more. "True. But in your predicament, it is in your advantage to be in a group with power rather than none at all, regardless of the group' moral standing. Our dream to create a future brimming with hope is very much real, and it's happening."

"So what?" Togami scoffed. "I can create it myself without your help."

"Even without Naegi-kun?" Kazama's grin slackens as his grey eyes became focused in the cold blue eyes of Togami.

"He will recover with the Penicillin."

"Are you deluding yourself? That wound is getting worse. He'll be dead as a door nail in 2 days." The man grew increasingly desperate.

"Really?" Togami remained unfazed. "And I take it you're a doctor?"

"No, philosopher."

It was rare to see Togami surprised, and it always doesn't last long. Immediately after, he burst into laughter.

"I don't see the humor in what I said, which means I must be the butt of the joke." Kazama's tone had rid itself of its whimsy, and a stern look replaced it. "Do you have anything against philosophy, Togami Byakuya?"

"All it takes to be a philosopher is to think." Togami scoffed.

"Yes, but the sad fact is some people do not have the brains to think. On your end, however, all it takes to be an heir is to be born."

 _...Holy crap._ Naegi whistled.

"Togami-chi, would you like some cold water?" Hagakure valiantly tried to hold back his mirth as he took out the water bottle.

"He does have a point..." Asahina thought hard.

"They call me the ultimate heir for a reason." Togami snarled.

"The same reason they call me the ultimate philosopher, we were accepted into Hope's Peak. But then again a name does nothing." He seemed to be enjoying himself now, gleefully relishing the small dents into Togami's composure.

"You went to Hope's peak?" Kirigiri finally asked.

"Graduated a while back. Now I would love to keep reducing Togami's ego into a pile of sludge, but the fact is I have a job to recruit you people, and Naegi's giving me a rather tight time limit. So, I ask again." Kazama stepped forward. "Will you join the future foundation please?"

"I'm all for it!" Asahina pumped her fists.

"Me too!" Hagakure hastily joined her.

"No." Togami shook his head vehemently. "I refuse. The Heir of Togami is no one's subordinate."

"What about Naegi?"

"I will not be held back by one life."

"Kirigiri, surely you have something to say about this?!" Kazama turned.

Kirigiri however remained silent as she looked between Kazama and Naegi.

"K-Kirigiri-San?" Naegi trembled. But Kirigiri remained mum as her lips curled in thought.

_Why is she hesitating?_

"OK. Not what I expected, but moving on! Fukawa, your response is-"

"I FOLLOW MY WHITE KNIGHT!" She immediately barked.

"So it's 3 to 3. No majority vote. Well then." Kazama shrugged. "It seems we've reached an impasse."

It was then that a new voice joined in the fray.

"What is taking so long?"

Kazama sharply sucked in breath.

"Oh great."

The pain seemed to be exacerbated by the sound of the new voice, with a quality best described as a pencil still being used despite the tip being broken. With great difficulty, Naegi turned to the tunnel entrance.

"Yuhara, what is with you and deadlines?"

The teen that spoke seemed only a few years older than Naegi, 3 at most. His neatly combed hair was a dark shade of green, and his eyes were surrounded by... _eyeliner? Or are they naturally dark?_ His eyes were a lifeless gold, and seemed to be chewing something incessantly in his mouth. He scratched his head once, twice, as he approached, back slightly hunched, towards the group of curious individuals.

"Alice." Kazama immediately plastered a smile.

"ALICE is a guy?" Hagakure gaped.

"Do you have a problem with that?" The boy glared as he casually took out a handgun.

"Nope, I mean I've also seen people like Sakura-chi and-"

"What do you mean by that?" Asahina frowned.

"Well, I mean..." Hagakure laughed nervously. "Her name didn't fit the type as well."

A vein began pulsing on Asahina's temple.

"I would never have expected it." Asahina muttered. "Not only creepy, you're also an insensitive fart, aren't you?"

"Now wait a minute! I just said-"

"Quiet." The teen's voice bought forth such authority that even Togami held his tongue. He stared at every person in the group, still chewing incessantly, until his gaze fell on Naegi, still sweating in a heap on the floor. At this, his eyes narrowed.

"That's septicemia. He needs to be treated at once." He turns accusingly towards Kazama. "Why didn't you hurry up?"

"I tried, but Togami objected." Kazama hastily raised his hands.

"Damn well I did." Togami saw this chance to re-enter the conversation. "I have no intention of becoming someone's subordinate." He towered towards the teen before continuing. "I don't trust an organization which doesn't trust us with information."

"Trust?" The teen held his ground. "You want information? Join us, and when the higher ups deem you fit for duty, you'll be told whatever I saw fit to tell Kazama."

"Wait. You mean whatever I found out for myself-" Kazama's eyes widened.

"-I intended to let you find out." He finished simply.

"Fantastic."

"My opinion stays."

"Byakuya, you're really not going to bother about Naegi, aren't you?"

"In this world, it's survival of the fittest. I'm already responsible for many lives, 1 more is no hard feat."

Alice considers this for a moment, then took out a small memo pad from his pocket. He flips the white pages, then reads:

"Togami Byakuya, Super High School Level Heir.

Former head of the now ruined Togami Conglomerate,

Youngest victor in the race to the crown,

Amongst 14 other siblings.

Attended 78th class of Hope's Peak academy,

Participated in the life of mutual killings and survived.

Analysis: belittling and confident, presumptuous to others

though this is likely not on purpose, but a mindset

moulded by previous events stated above.

Sees himself as somebody the world needs for its survival,

Unafraid to make sacrifices, as long as it's not himself.

Enjoys Civet Coffee and the Millennium prize problems.

Sees life as a battle royale, survival of the fittest mentality,

Only thinks for others when he himself is endangered.

Remarks: Annoying son of a git that needs to learn that there are always people superior than he is.

Unwilling to admit to changes, and his admiration for others.

Recruitment will likely prove most difficult out of all 6."

He nodded once, and then placed the memo pad back in place. "That explains a lot."

"Flattering." Togami seemed pleasantly surprised. "The analysis was well done, but that changes nothing."

"Did you not see that I had access to such information regarding your past?" A trace of annoyance finally darted across Alice's voice.

"That information was unwittingly broadcasted. Now everyone knows." Togami dismissed the notion. "Including SHSL despair. You're gonna have to do better than that."

"I am not giving information until they allow it." He flatly refused.

"Then I'm not going, simple as that."

 _Kirigiri-San, just say something._ But Kirigiri remained silent, avoiding his gaze, observing the exchange like one would do for a tennis match.

Togami seemed intent on staring the scrawny man down, but Alice didn't budge an inch. Finally, Alice sighed."This is going to be problematic." He finally turned back.

"Your problems are none of my concern."

"My orders are to bring the 6 of you alive for recruitment. This conversation is whittling away the life of Makoto." Alice returned to face Togami.

Togami laughed.

"Well, too bad then."

A smile finally creeps onto Alice's face.

"Yes, Byakuya. My sentiments exactly."

Without warning, he swiftly raised the gun.

**_BANG!_ **

*******************

_Huh?_

Naegi watched in shock as a red rose began blooming on the right side of Togami's chest. Togami finally seemed to register the gun, still smoking in Alice's hand, and looks down to his rapidly bleeding front.

His eyes widen in furious disbelief, before collapsing onto his knees.

Then all hell broke loose.

"OH MY GOD!" Hagakure screamed.

"Why the hell would you do-"

"OK, BOZO. TIME TO DIE! NOBODY KILLS MY WHITE KNIGHT EXCEPT ME!" Genocider shrieked. She lunged towards Alice, scissors in hand, before being hastily pulled back by the combined efforts of Asahina, Kazama and Hagakure.

"ALICE, I'm begging you, put the gun down." Kazama pleaded.

"Why did you do that?" Naegi croaked, the pain was unbearable now.

"Shut up. I'm saving your life." Alice spat.

"You wretch." Togami furiously wheezed. "Just wait until I get my hands on you-“

"That is a flesh wound." Alice informed him. "No organs were injured. But good luck taking that bullet out and bleed to death. Unless of course, you join us, and our doctor will happily do that for you."

"You're willing to go to such lengths?" Kirigiri was on her guard. "Why?"

"It's my superior's job to do the explaining, my job is to see you there." Alice cocked the gun once more. "Now, you are entirely willing to sacrifice Naegi in your pursuit for the future. However, his life is not yours to sacrifice, yours on the other hand..."

"This is blackmail." Togami snarled.

"This is business." Alice corrected him.

"No, this is Spart-“Alice shot Kazama such a withering look that he left the joke unfinished.

"So. I give you a choice, before I shoot you in the lungs, which will render you incapable of speech until treated. That would be most welcome, I'm sure. Will you come to the future foundation or not?"

Togami gasped for breath, his breathing becoming increasingly ragged. Finally, his breath steadies, and he slowly stands up.

"What is your name?" Togami begins.

"Alice Nineheart."

**ALICE NINEHEART: SHSL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER**

"Ok, you wretch, rest assured I will never forget this degradation my entire life..." He shoots him a look of raw hatred as his blood continues to flow. "But... It appears I have no choice but to obey... For now."

"Oh, hate me. See if I care." He gave a mirthless smirk as he puts the gun back into his holster. "Now, if you would hurry, Yuzuru's waiting in the car. We need to get back ASAP. Yuhara, carry Naegi out."

"Yes sir." Kazama gently picks up Naegi in a princess-like fashion, and proceeds to walk back towards the subway entrance, the 6 following closely behind.

"Kirigiri..." Naegi whispered. The pain was rocking him to his core, and he struggled to stay awake as he got blasted by a ray of sunlight.

"Mother of God. Now I'm impressed." Hagakure gasped at the vehicle.

"Oshkosh M-ATV." The driver called.

The teen was no older than Naegi, and the youthful Japanese stepped out of the car in confusion, sporting an aquamarine long sleeved sequined shirt and black trousers. His hair, a dark ash grey, protruded in odd areas and seemed to accentuate the pointedness of his chin. But taking into account this person's youth, fashion sense, and general poise, this person is definitely... _hot._

Asahina seemed to swoon at the sight of him.

"Alice, what happened?"

"Objective complete. Start the car, they need immediate medical attention."

"Did you do that?" The driver pointed at the bleeding Togami, now supported by Fukawa and Hagakure.

"Yes. Byakuya needed a bit more persuasion." Alice climbed into the front seat of the ATV.

"Oh god. Are you alright?" He called to Togami in concern.

"Shut up and buckle up." Togami fumed as he strode into the car.

"Now, no need to get so emotional!" The driver protested in indignation.

Wordlessly, the remaining few clambered into the car, and Naegi's vision was blinded with walls of yellow and red.

"Why are there so many plush toys..." Kirigiri muttered.

"Winnie the Pooh? How cute!" Asahina gleefully hugged the nearest yellow bear.

"What the fuck." Genocider was displeased at the sudden onslaught of Pooh Bears. "What the actual flying fuck is this? MONOPOOHMA?"

"I told you to keep them away, Yuzuru." Alice blandly complained.

"What? I can't even decorate the car a bit?" The driver affectionately tickled the chin of the plushie on the counter. "Surely you agree it's cute?"

"Start driving or I'll rip each and every one of their heads off."

"Geez, you have no sense of humor at all." Yuzuru quickly inserted the key and the engine roared into life. Naegi was nearing his breaking point.

"Sleep." Kazama instructed him. "It'll be alright."

Naegi acquiesced, and relaxed against his cool skin. Soon, the group was once again speeding off into the unknown...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, no prizes won for people who've inferred who the driver was.  
> Hint: He's a real person and extremely talented. AND CUTE.  
> Ok, I'll try to make the OC better based on feedback, and there will be better chances to know them.  
> Baseball next! But if you have any serious issues about the OC, I'll try and address them in the next chapter.  
> Thank you!


	3. Misunderstandings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naegi confronts Kirigiri, and a fallout ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I'm swamped with work.  
> For those expecting baseball, I was out of inspiration so i decided to work on this.  
> Thanks, and enjoy.

From his vantage point, Kamukura gazed at the desert brown vehicle speeding out of the subway entrance away from the city with an unblinking eye.

**_SHSL Hope? I expected more from somebody with that title. Disappointing._ **

"But then again society _is_ a colossal disappointment." He thought aloud.

**_The plebeians are never satisfied. Democracy is a demented gag. The only acceptable means of government is where the majority is ruled by the elite few: the talented. Oligarchy. Monarchy. Autocracy. Totalitarianism. They are most probable at long term success. But no, we want democracy. After all, everyone loves democracy._ **

He tucked the strand of abyss-black hair back and evaluated his predicament.

**_Junko Enoshima is dead, despair-inducingly dead of her own despairing volition, yet she laughs In the face of the unknown. Did you plan your loss as well, Enoshima? Even after death I find you... aberrant, an enigma._ **

Frankly, the man didn't give a toss about hope or despair, or all the nonsense she spouted. These ideas were so abstract that it seemed pointless to pursue them. The final order she issued was proving to be extraordinarily difficult. **_Still, a debt is a debt._**

Finally, he stood up and patted away the dust on his trousers. **_I have work to do._**

******************

_"Naegi-kun!"_

_I snap awake at the crisp voice. Maizono nibbled at her salad and continues: "How's things with Kirigiri-San?"_

_It had been a small period of time since the day together under the magnolia tree, where we had both come clean about the respective targets of our affections. Despite her having her overly-enthusiastic suitor to handle well, the same couldn’t be said on my end._

_"Absolutely no progress at all." I sighed._

_"She doesn't mind being alone, does she?" I surreptitiously turn back to get a better view of where she's staring at, and I watch as Kirigiri takes a leisurely sip of coffee._

_"I think she enjoys it." I laughed hollowly. Especially considering she spent most of the time out of class going out on her own, handling whatever new case she's working on with her colleague overseas._

**_Yep. Approaching her would take a lifetime._ **

_"This is ridiculous." Sayaka finished her juice box, and stared unblinkingly towards me. "I did not come clean to you just to have you not seize the nearest opportunity to be with her."_

_"I tried." I objected indignantly. "I accompany her most of the time when I can, and she never says a single word throughout! I talk about Hope's Peak, she stays silent. I talk about the class and she stays silent, I compliment her gloves and she leaves me alone with a quick 'LOOK! AN EAGLE!'" Somehow, the thought was more worrying than the looming midterms. “Does she like anyone, at all?”_

_"Well, at least she doesn't object to your presence." Sayaka noted matter-of-factly, “She wouldn’t complain if you didn’t make a sound.”_

_“I’m starting to wonder whether the situation would be better if she was a tsundere…”_

_Maizono looked up in amazement._

_“Anta Baka?!” She laughed. “Tsunderes will never be honest with their feelings for someone, and on top of all that, she’ll treat you with expectations that you like her back, so it’s a tiring journey all the way.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Can you seriously imagine her getting angry and firing railguns with her fingertips?”_

_“Um…Definitely not.” I admitted. “But I’m not entirely sure I prefer Kirigiri as the silent, mysterious type, either.”_

_“If you want somebody who can do all of the above, and more, you should consult Enoshima-san.” Sayaka nodded. “She knows about these things better than I do.”_

_“I’ll consult Enoshima about my private love affairs when I decided I want to throw them out of the window.”_

_She laughed, and though my heart fluttered at her radiance and purity, the feeling seemed to have subsided over the days. “Very true. She can’t keep secrets, can she?”_

_“I think she’s doing a fine job keeping **her** own secrets, others, not so much.” I frown to myself. “Has she explained where she’s been going on the days she’s absent?”_

_“No. But it’s probably just another photo shoot. But I do recall her saying she would be going overseas on several occasions, though.”_

_“Overseas?” I lean in closer in curiosity. “Details.”_

_“Oh come on, Naegi-kun. You’re showing a little bit too much interest in someone else!” She wagged her head in mock disapproval. “But I do remember her saying she travelled somewhere in Europe, I think.”_

_“Gee, that narrows it down quite a bit, doesn’t it.” I plop back down in disappointment. **Evidently nothing’s going to come out of talking about it anymore.**_

_“Right, so I propose we do this.” She drops her idol-like façade, and stares at me with an air of business. “For a period of time, we cut off all contact, and by the time we reconcile, you’re with Kirigiri, and I’ll be with… the guy that I’ll fall for.”_

_“Leon, you mean?” A mischievous grin blooms on my face._

_“He’s a dork.” She sighs._

_“I’m just as much as a dork as he is.”_

_“No, but he’s slightly more cocky and obnoxious.”_

_“Now come on!” I protest. “He’s confident, but deep down I’m sure he’s got a nice side.”_

_“… no use having a nice side if people don’t show it.”_

_I stare in amazement._

_“You know, that’s actually quite true.”_

_“Which begs the question, what is it you see in Kirigiri that made you fall for her and not me?”_

**_… Huh?_ **

_“Uh… Uh… I don’t know.” I give up._

_Clearly disappointed, Sayaka keeps the salad bowl back to the tray._

_“Well, when you figure it out, tell me.” She smiled ruefully. “I’ll be waiting.”_

_************************_

Naegi lurched awake, only for the machine on his right to ping wildly.

 _Wires?_ He stared at the multiple wirings plastered on various parts of his body. A pack of saline hung securely above him, steadily giving fluid towards his wrist. The redness of the wound had subsided, and a burning itch replaced it.

_I’m in…a hospital?_

He flicked on the small lamp on his bedside, and a small yellow glow illuminated his surroundings: A smaller than average room, with a small bedside table, but no windows. The air was fresh with the smell of the anesthetic you would find at the dentist’s.

“Ok, it looks like he’s awake.”

“Once you’re done, leave the area I want to question him.”

“Now wait a minute-“

“It’s just the regular routine-“

“No need for it, he can’t think in his current state-“

A small army of people clamored their way in, and surrounded Naegi’s bed.

“Well, young man.” A skeletal doctor in his late 40s scribbled on a clipboard as he turned off the machine. “You are lucky to be alive.”  
“Question. Where is this place?” Naegi managed.

“Med Department.” He took out a small torchlight and shone it between Naegi’s pupils. “You’re currently in the Emergency ward. So, how are you feeling?”

“… Fine, I guess?”

“Considering you had been stabbed over the two days, with blood poisoning going rampant in your body, I’m pleasantly surprised that you’re not dead and survived the treatment.” He finishes the notes, then directs his eyes towards the patient, who whistled with surprise.

“Are those… contacts?”

“What, my eyes?” The doctor turns towards the small mirror on the wall, taking a better look at his red right eye and blue left eye. “No, that’s natural. Rather proud of it, to be honest. So, Naegi-kun. Get some rest after these guys treat you.” He motioned towards the two people behind him, a red haired woman with a ponytail and-

“Top of the world to you, fella.” He popped a konpeito into his mouth.

“Kazama.” Naegi smiled. “So this is the Future Foundation?”

“Yeah. We’re currently underground, but that’s another story.” Kazama patted the doctor on the back. “Right, then, Igarashi, I think you can leave him to us.”

“If you say so.” The doctor nodded, and exited the room.

 **Tsubasa Igarashi** 翼五十嵐 **Head of 3** **rd** **Division (MED)**

“So… He’s not SHSL?” Naegi confirmed after he left.

“Does that matter in this environment?” The girl beat Kazama to the chair beside Naegi, ignoring Kazama’s complaint.  “He’s the best doctor we’ve got.”

“Ok, Ok.” Naegi shrugged.

“So, right now, we’re going to do some word association.” She took out a notepad and crossed her legs. “You do know the drill, right?”

“Word Association?”

“Just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when I say the following word. Don’t hesitate, now.” The girl flipped the notepad in a business-like manner.

***********************

 **Girl:** Ok, fair warning, I’m going to record this for future reference.

 **Naegi:** That’s fine, but can I just ask-

 **Kazama:** Later, after the test.

 **Girl:** 1st Word Association test, conducted on Naegi Makoto, SHSL Hope. Starting with the following: Country.

 **Naegi:** Japan.

 **Girl:** Airplane.

 **Naegi:** Bomb.

 **Girl (** scribbling furiously) **:** Cards.

 **Naegi:** Gamble.

 **Girl:** Tactic.

 **Naegi:** Strategy.

 **Girl:** Asahina.

 **Naegi:** Sakura.

 **Girl** (pauses to get a better look at him) **:** Family.

 **Naegi:** Worried.

 **Girl:** Hagakure.

 **Naegi: …** um….

 **Girl:** Monokuma.

 **Naegi:** Punishment.

 **Girl:** Hope.

 **Naegi:** Despair.

 **Girl:** Friend.

 **Naegi:** Student.

 **Girl:** Togami.

 **Naegi:** ………. Asshole.

**(Kazama laughs hysterically.)**

**Girl (ignoring him):** Birds.

 **Naegi:** Fly.

 **Girl:** School.

 **Naegi:** Killing.

 **Girl:** Kirigiri.

 **Naegi:** …

 **Girl:** Kirigiri.

 **Naegi:** …

 **Girl:** End of transmission.

**************************

“Pay up.” She gestured to Kazama.

“You see what you did there?” Kazama sighed as he handed over a packet of Konpeito.

“Wait, I don’t understand.” Naegi shook his head.

“I made a bet with Kazama that you would take a long time to answer when it came to Kirigiri.” She smiled self satisfactorily. “And once again, I’ve further strengthened the fact that my intuition is never wrong.”

“Why didn’t you answer with anything?” Kazama groaned as he watched her open the packet. “Lavender, cold, mysterious, friend, ally, bitch! Anything!”

“Bitch?” Naegi frowned.

“Just a figure of speech.” He corrected himself.

“Ok, now can I ask questions?”

“Feel free.”

“Who are you?”

“Akiyama Shizuka.”

 **Akiyama Shizuka** 秋山静香 **SHSL Psychologist/3 rd Division Vice-Head**

“3rd Division?”

“The future foundation is split into five divisions.”

“Six, actually, if you include the higher-ups.” Kazama popped a pink candy into his mouth. “So there’s the first division, Intelligence, run by that emotionless cow-“

“Nineheart.” Akiyama bit her lip. “Ruthless, he is, when it comes to the flow of information that goes around. They made him Director General for a reason.”

“What does he do?” Naegi wonders.

“His main talent’s counterintelligence, but there’s not much time for that sort of work here.” Kazama informed him. “Counterintelligence is basically the prevention of the leakage of crucial information by others meaning to obtain it through espionage, blackmail, bribery, prostitution, larceny, arson, ripping of the fingernails, or just theft. He likes feeding would-be traitors with false information, recode documents that contain supposedly important information into the manuscripts of J.K. Rowling… He’s got an odd sense of humor, come to think of it.”

“Ok, anymore, and we’ll be called in for questioning.” She gives the slashing motion underneath her neck. “There’s this rumor he installed bugs all over this place.”

“Bugs?”

“Listening devices.”

“Oh… Is that legal?” Naegi paled.

“Oh yeah, the seniors give him free reign.” Akiyama gave a tight-lipped smile.

“Not all of them, though, just that one massive douche-“

“OK, time out.” She waved the matter aside. “Second Division, Military. Third Division, Medic, run by Igarashi the head doctor and me. Fourth Division, Logistics, responsible for the daily going-on within the facility, responsible for meals, general affairs, announcements, you get the idea.”

“And finally, 5th Division.” Kazama interrupted. “Or, as I would like to call it, Miniluv.”

“You mean… that thing from the book _1984?_ ” Naegi’s eyes widened.

“Oho! I’m surprised you spotted it.” Kazama gave a clap of approval. “Though I would say, Minihope would be a better term. 5th Division governs Rehabilitation for people afflicted by despair. Though the results are certainly good, I can’t say I approve of their methods…” For a moment his face falls, and age seeps into every line of his face, as his grey eyes lose their twinkle.  “But I guess at this point, perhaps the end truly justifies the means. Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527, if you were wondering.”

“As usual, your arsenal of tidbits of information is proving to be in all counts useless.” She clinically adjusts her thick black glasses.

“And then, there’s the higher ups.” Kazama spoke the words with a certain grudging respect. “Head and visionaries for the greater future shining with hope, ridded of despair.” 

“Who’s the main leader?”

“Good god, there’s no such thing!” Appalled, he shook a disapproving finger at Naegi. “The last thing we need in the Future Foundation is a power struggle, or a civil war. It’s a sort of committee, where the ideas are discussed in great lengths, and sometimes they’ll call on others towards their discussions.”

“How were they elected?”

“Public vote, like a democracy.”

“Oh.” Naegi nodded to himself. “That’s fair, I guess.”

“No, not really. Socrates for one believed that Democracy was evil.”

Naegi stared in incredulity.

“Democracy? Evil?”

“He criticizes the way justice is distorted with enough emotional pleading. Justice is meant to be blind, after all.” Kazama exhaled, and that twinkle reignites itself.

“Ok, one final question.” Naegi gulped. “Did… anyone come visit me at night?”

At this, the two exchanged a fleeting glance, then stared at Naegi with such an intensity that he shrunk further into his bed sheet.

“Uh… What?”

“Be honest with your curiosity, otherwise we won’t answer.” Akiyama chewed her pencil.

“So, rephrase the question.” A mad grin stretched across Kazama’s face as he leaned in. “What is it you really want to know? Because chances are, I already know.”

_Good Grief._

“Fine. Did Kirigiri-san visit me?”

Kazama broke into a fit of giggles as Akiyama scribbled another note on her notepad.

“No.” She said simply.

“Oh, OK.” Naegi tried hard to conceal the disappointment on his face.

“But I must say I’m surprised, based on what I’ve seen from you two’s relationship, I thought she would care a little bit more for your own welfare, as opposed to examining each and every inch of the hospital facility, which unfortunately is locked down before the 6 of you are finished being treated.” Akiyama leaned in closer, and a strand of red hair fell between her brown eyes. “This is most problematic.”

“That’s Kirigiri-san for you, always knowledge first.” Naegi smiled ruefully.

“But, based on what you two have been through, I find it hard to believe she didn’t speak when Kazama questioned her whether to come in. Did that really happen?”

**_STAB._ ** _A spear seemed to lodge itself repeatedly into Naegi’s heart._

“…I think so.”

Kazama had stopped giggling, and tried to look sympathetic as the memory was replayed in Naegi’s mind.

“Ok, none of this adds up.” Akiyama finally breaks into frustration, and she gives Naegi a calculated glare. “People who’ve done what you’ve done together should have formed strong ties with each other. She would have at least made the attempt. I’ve watched the transmission from Hope’s Peak, and I’ve gained a great understanding about you two’s relationship.”

“Wait… What do you know?”

“Everything your body language speaks. Every bead of sweat, a fluttering of the eyelids, dilation of pupils, I see it. So, taking into account the matter of the hormones that would arise out of such an action, I ask you this.” She clears her throat. “Have you two truly discussed world peace?”

**…What?**

The silence was finally punctuated with Kazama’s rapid breathing, a

side effect caused by his valiant efforts to hold his laughter.

“World Peace?”

“Yes, world peace!” She leans closer. “Have you two ever discussed world peace?”

“ _Heeheehmpf-"_ Kazama allows a series of giggles to escape his lips as he seemed to be hyperventilating.

“I… don’t know, I may have.” Naegi racked his brains.

“Hahahahahaa- oh, please excuse me-AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Kazama finally loses it, and starts laughing anew, ignoring the glare of Akiyama as she continued.

“How could you forget about a discussion of World Peace with Kirigiri?” She frowned.

“Hey, we talk quite a bit in my free time, and I can’t remember for sure what we talked about.” Naegi became increasingly confused.

“HOW COULD YOU FORGET?!” Akiyama snarled. “Answer quickly, the answer would mean a lot.”

“I don’t know!” Naegi gave up.

“Then tell me, what exactly happened in the bath house with the two of you?”

**… Bath House?**

“I don’t know, we talked to Alter Ego-“

“After trial 4.”

“Oh… Kirigiri told me about her key, and then proceeded to investigate the second floor of the dormitories.” Naegi finally answered.

Akiyama sank back in her chair in understanding. “I see, that explains a lot, thank you.”

“Can somebody tell me what exactly do you mean when you say _Discuss World Peace?_ ”

“Allow me to explain.” Kazama’s laughter subsided. “She treats the phrase _Discuss World Peace_ as a substitute euphemism to refer to the glorious action of the Diddly Romper.”

Naegi made a note to himself never to expect a clear explanation from Kazama again.

“Was that supposed to make sense?” Naegi sarcastically remarked.

“You people refer to it as, if I may quote a famous Sitcom, _the Dance with No Pants._ ”

Naegi’s eyes widen in understanding.

“.............. GOOD GRIEF, NO! ........NO! .........GOD, NO!” He took the pillow from his back and began banging his head repeatedly onto the cushion, before being hastily stopped by a satisfied Akiyama.

“I think too much stress is bad for you in your current state.” She gently set the pillow down. “But I apologize for the misunderstanding caused.”

“How on earth did you arrive to that conclusion?” Naegi sighed, the blush still set on his face.

“Partially Monokuma, and partially the way you and the others crept into the bath house to peek-“

“YOU SAW THAT?!” Naegi promptly buried his face in the pillow in embarrassment. “Sweet Jesus, have mercy…”

“So, how much did you see?” Kazama snapped his fingers. “Details, Details.”

“You’re asking me to describe what I saw when the girls took a bath.” Naegi dug deeper into the soft fabric of the pillow.  
“Akiyama, analysis?”

“Judging from his reaction, and the amount of time spent inside, I would say he didn’t see much, so I would hazard that he at **most** got a great look at her gluteus maximus.”

Kazama broke into ecstatic applause.

“OH STOP IT!” Naegi screamed into the cushion. “Now tell me you’re the only ones who know this.”

“Oh, everyone knows.” Kazama gleefully informed him. “It put you straight back up on the popularity polls, you know, overtaking Togami briefly. Most people never knew you had that sort of ambition within you, man’s greatest ambition! I think everyone's respect grew of you, with **one major exception** …”

“Fantastic.” Naegi rolled over to a side in dismay. _If Kirigiri finds out, I’m…_

 _Wait. She wouldn’t care about it._ Naegi struggled with the thought. _Why would she care?_

“Right, and I think you’re good to go.” Akiyama switched off the machine and gently removed the needle from the IV drip. “Togami’s also almost finished recuperating, and the others are waiting in the main hall.”

“So… everyone’s fine!” A wave of relief swept over Naegi.

“No major harm has been dealt.” She allows a tight smile. “Now get your ass up, you’ve got a welcome reception waiting, and I've got a serial killer to analyze."

*************************

** 3RD DIVISION: MAIN HALL **

Hagakure gently sat down on the cushion next to Asahina, whom was determinedly ignoring his gaze.

"Uhh...Asahina-chi?" Asahina gruffly emptied her paper cup of water in an effort to steer herself away from conversation.

"Look, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking at the time,  I was confused, and... Are you listening to me?" Hagakure scratched his head.  "Don't apologize to me, apologize to Sakura-chan." Asahina growled.

"What? You want me to be a m-medium? B-but that costs quite a bit to... How about half price?"

"You want me to pay you to apologize." Asahina shook her head. "Unbelievable."

"Ok, this is it, my last offer. I'll give you two seances for the price of two. Great offer, right?" Asahina finally sat on the couch opposite from the one opposite Hagakure's.

 _Women._ He thought.

 _Men._ She thought.

The tension between the two was growing increasingly uncomfortable, before a shuffle of feet was heard crossing the marble floor. Seconds later, Togami Byakuya sullenly came into view.

"Togami-chi! How's the wound?" Hagakure whistled.

"Oh piss off, you neophyte." Togami had put his white shirt back on, now coated with dried blood, and Hagakure hastily left his seat to make room for him. "When I get my hands on him, I'm going to let Genocider do as she please with him, or...or execution by mortar shell." Togami snapped his fingers. "I know that's legal."

"In North Korea..." Asahina reminded him.

"Fine. I'll settle for a lethal injection." Togami exhaled, clearly satisfied with the thought. "Ricin, or Cyanide, or even a slow death by Rhubarb poisoning."

"Are you kidding me? According to what I've heard, that guy's a top gun in this joint." Hagakure shook his head. "You'll never be allowed to kill him."

"I must admit, the possible ramifications of such an action would likely prove against my favor, but the pride of the Togami Conglomerate must be restored." Togami leaned closer. "You claim to be a clairvoyant. How accomplished are you in the art of witch burning?"

"Togami." Asahina finally had enough. "He did what he had to do to save Naegi-kun's life. It was only because you refused that he finally resorted to the gun."

"Unacceptable. I can't even trust this organization." Togami looked at the hard sofas, the water dispenser and the cold marble floor. "Although... It may certainly radiate a sense of authority, but I-I still need more convincing."

"What is it you still want? A jacuzzi? Lobster Thermidor? A pool fully equipped with diving boards?"

"Shut your trap, Dolts." Togami pushed his glasses up. "What I desired days ago, and still do, is the right information."

"Well, bad luck, Togami-chi, but the guy who controls that flow of info: Newsflash, he shot you in the chest." Hagakure shook his head.

"I guess I have no choice." Togami resignedly sighed.

Asahina looked impressed. "You're going to apologize?"

"No." A glint appeared in the corner of his eyes. "Torture." Ignoring the dumbstruck faces of Asahina and Hagakure, he moved on: "Normally I would dispatch the necessary people for such an action, but I guess I have no choice to do myself, if I am going to receive the necessary information. So first, before the questioning, there's the mandatory ripping of fingernails, one by one, and then here's the part where you come in," Togami paused in thought. "Which would you rather not be subjected to, burned repeatedly by candle wax dripping from lit candles in the rafters, in the style of _Death Bell,_ or having a sex toy stuffed with timed plastic explosives forced into his rectum, or-"

"ENOUGH!" Hagakure screamed. "How can you talk about such things so easily?" Asahina was very pale.

"Don't interrupt, I need your output on this one. So, the final option is the classic water boarding. I take a wet cloth, cover it on his face, and pour water on it inducing suffocation, and if done long enough, death. But then again, I suppose-"

There was no end to the nightmares Hagakure was going to have that night, as Togami continued indulging himself in his violent fantasies.

***************************

Kirigiri exited the storage room, holding a list of medical files. The synapses of her brain were already cross-checking the information, storing them into large data banks for later perusal, and she devoured each and everyone of them as she continued her exploration of the area.

 _Alright, it's sometime in 2012, now I'm getting somewhere._ She flipped the pages, and her eyes narrow in surprise.

**_ANALYSIS OF 78th CLASS HOPE'S PEAK STUDENTS_ ** _**(Mutual Killing of Class 78)**_

Kirigiri looked at the top right corner. _Akiyama Shizuka. Well, she was a psychologist in the first place._

Interest piqued, she flipped the first few pages and started reading:

**Celestia Ludenberg** (Real Name Taeko Yasuhiro)

**Profile: SHSL Gambler**

**Analysis:**

**Stereotypical Control Freak** : highly disadvantaged in a survival of the fittest world (aka the school life of mutual killings). Her talents will literally mean nothing much to gain superiority over others, and whilst she is capable of indulging in her own fantasies about her imaginary intellect that rivals others, people don’t treat her seriously, wearing her down increasingly and leading to the events on the third floor. In an effort to maintain control, she establishes _Night Time Rule_ (LOL, like that would work), and gets increasingly frustrated when people breaks the rules (and don’t care, in the case of Togami).

 **Pathological Liar:** In the various free time spent with Naegi Makoto, she refers to several important figures in the gambling underworld, some of them coming directly from psychological thriller mangas, and some referencing real life events, and all claiming to have beaten them (once again, what a liar). **Note:** She lies purely to maintain the façade of Celestia Ludenberg, a cold-hearted manipulative bastard.

 **Relationship with Byakuya Togami:** Sees him as an equal, the latter of which does not (shows blatant disregard for the rules someone else created), and she knows it, which frustrates her even more. Byakuya Togami doesn’t even need to try, he’s a natural at being who he is, and that’s what Celestia strives to be. However, even when she tries her best, he doesn’t care (his ego is overwhelming).

 **PERSONAL REMARKS:** Don’t like her, at all. She tries too hard to be something she’s not, and for a SHSL Gambler, she seriously has the worst luck in the game (Murder #3 and #4). Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. (Must investigate Naegi, perhaps this is his luck at work?) Dishonest, and one of her lies really gets on my nerves. Her odds of emerging alive: Low. Unless she’s capable of lying to herself and the others all the way to the bitter end, she will do something incredibly… stupid.

 

Kirigiri stood still as she finished reading.

 _That’s actually quite well analyzed._ A sense of respect seemed to rise for the psychologist as Kirigiri felt the indents where the pen scratched the surface of the smooth paper.

_Then… What about me?_

Kirigiri pondered such an action. Was it Egotistical, or purely natural to resort to your natural curiosity? Finally, curiosity won over, and she started flipping pages to find her report.

“Kirigiri-san?”

Kirigiri flinched, and slowly turned back to see Naegi making his way towards her. Suddenly she wished she had read the analysis on Naegi, if it did exist.

_“I… believe in you too, Kirigiri-san!”_

Save for his unwelcome curiosity in her private family life, she did not find his presence unwelcome. To be honest, she preferred it over the others.

“Where were you? The others are already at the main hall!” Naegi gasped.

“Exploring the perimeter…” She eyed the wound on his shoulder. “How’s the stab?”

“Better.” He breathed a sigh of utmost utopia. “Thanks.”

His eyes bore such a sense of trust towards her that made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. Trusting someone always seemed to be in all counts a very bad deal for her. _Calm yourself. I am at the advantage here, no need to be fazed by such a thing._

“Shall we get going then?” Kirigiri briskly made her way back to the main hall, with Naegi hurrying after her.

“Kirigiri, what’s that?”

“Just something that I’ve found.” Kirigiri quickly hid it from view.

“You stole it?” Naegi’s eyes widened.

“I have every intention of returning it, after I’ve finished reading it.” Kirigiri gave a self-satisfied smirk.

Naegi remained silent. “Your ethics on give and take are slightly… off? Haha, no offense.”

“It’s a detective’s curiosity, to be in the know.”

Kirigiri sneaked a look behind her; Though the smile was still plastered on his face, his drooping lime green eyes revealed so much more.

“What? Speak what’s on your mind.” Kirigiri rapped.

“Oh! Um-“ He became clearly startled. “It’s really nothing much.”

She gave him one of her cold hard looks.

“Ok fine. FINE!” Naegi dropped all pretense, and looked at Kirigiri with a certain ferocity: “Why didn’t you speak up then, back at the subway?”

Kirigiri bit her lip. She had, of course, expected this question to come sooner or later, yet still couldn’t find an acceptable answer to satiate herself.

“Well?”

 _Why did I hesitate?_ If it was Asahina, or even Hagakure for that matter, she would have probably gave in and allowed the Future Foundation to take them in. Her feelings for Naegi, however…

“… I was being cautious.” Kirigiri finally spoke up.

Naegi’s face fell. “Eh? B-but… that’s it?”

Something in Kirigiri’s heart seemed to laugh, as the brevity and callousness of her answer finally proved to much for even Naegi to bear.

“Ok, I was second-guessing myself.” Kirigiri elaborated. “I didn’t want to risk you getting into an even worse state.”

“I told you Kazama was trustworthy.” Naegi protested.

“…That wasn’t enough.”

“My wound was getting worse.”

“…”

Naegi was getting increasingly bewildered, before the truth finally sunk in. The smile collapsed, and he looked away.

“You still don’t trust me.”

Kirigiri made no effort to deny it.

“After all we’ve been through, you still don’t trust me.” Naegi faltered. “Is it that difficult for you to just… trust me back? Take the risk? Instead of treating me like I’m expendable over and over again-“

“Excuse me.” Kirigiri finally retorted. “I never told you to go down into the dumpster, nor have I told you to go astray into that playground.”

Naegi looked like he was slapped in the face.

“Hey, I saved your life.” He raised his voice.

“Alter Ego would have saved mine, even if you didn’t jump in.” Kirigiri’s surprised herself when her anger began welling up. “And you getting stabbed was not caused by me.”

“I never said it was!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is- I trust you more than anyone else.” Naegi blurted. Ignoring Kirigiri’s momentary lapse of surprise, he continued. “And, it’s… I know nobody ever asked me to trust you, you were always brilliant working on your own without me, but do you know how wearing it is when you don’t trust me back?”

“When you defended me back at the first trial, I cant tell you how happy I was, to finally be able to trust somebody, somebody brilliant, someone with a sense of justice, someone like… you. I tried my best with you, to befriend you, trusting anyone needs a certain amount of risk… but that’s why it’s amongst friends! That’s why it’s called trust. So, after all that, why don’t you trust me?”

Kirigiri remained silent, unable to look at Naegi in the eye. His release of passion seemed to exhaust him, and he gasped heavily as the two surveyed one another. The amount of anger and hurt that Kirigiri felt for him surprised her, and she bit her lip as she pondered his words.

She sighed, and for a moment she seriously considered telling him everything, all her feelings, everything bottled up in that shell for weeks. _Why not, though?_

Kirigiri finally made up her mind.

“… If you find it disappointing that I don’t trust you back, then I apologize, but I… still don’t trust you, I’m not going to trust someone after his endless complaints.” Ignoring the hurt on his face, she steely continued on her way, Naegi looking at her back all the way.

His eyes moistened, and he angrily wiped the tear away, but his anger never lasts, and soon it’s replaced by disappointment, depression.

 _Screw this._ He decided. _Why should I care if she doesn’t trust me back?_

**_Because you’re the only one who’s going to be hurt from the lack of trust. She doesn’t care._ **

He followed her, now mindful about the clear gap between the two.

************************

“OK, everyone’s here.” Akiyama made a note on the log behind the receptionist’s desk. The 6 had gathered in front of the pneumatic steel doors, looking no worse for wear. Kazama noted the lifeless quality in Naegi’s eyes, but kept silent as he sucked a Konpeito star.

“Now, first things first. Kirigiri, would you mind handing that over? Generally, I would like people to respect my privacy.” She obliged, and handed over the files without complaint.

“Now, we’ll make our way down, and you’ll be properly introduced to the factions of the Future Foundation. Questions?” Akiyama gazed at the silent crowd. “No? Then we’re ready, Kazama.”

“Ten-four.” He keyed in a passcode on the wall, and the pneumatic doors began rumbling open. Naegi took a look to his right. Kirigiri was looking firmly towards the future, and at once the irony of the situation began setting in.

_No chance of holding hands today._

Finally the doors slid open, and the 6 cautiously step out into the dark room.

“I can’t see.” Hagakure frowned.

“Is there a no electricity policy here?” Asahina frowned.

**_BANG!_ **

The darkness lifts, and Naegi gasped at the crowd around them as they erupt into cheers and applause.

“CONGRATULATIONS!”

“INSPIRING!”

“GOOD ON YOU!”

Fully grown men and women Naegi never met before clapped him on the back in fervent support, all whilst cheering, and over the din he could see Togami detestably shoving a rather friendly boy away whilst telling the others to unhand him.

“This is unbelievable!” Hagakure was ecstatic.

“Guys, make way, please.” Akiyama tried to control the crowd, but it just went nuts even more, and the celebrations went on for another minute.

“Guys, they need to go down!”

“Come on, they’ve killed Enoshima! Party time!” A burly man raised an imaginary glass.

**_“What is all this Ruckus?”_ **

The crowd faltered and the din died down as they turned to get a better look at the new visitor.

The red sea parted, and a smartly dressed man glided towards the 6.

********************

Naegi finally understood at the moment what people meant when they said people grew more handsome with age. The man, taller than Togami, though wrinkled and wearing a cut of grey hair and beard, bore such a sense of regality and dignity that Naegi couldn’t help but admire. His grey skin seemed to accentuate the electricity of the purple in his eyes, and a firmly set jaw line finished the entire look.

“Who’s he?” Asahina whispered.

“He looks in charge, doesn’t he?” Togami muttered.

Kirigiri muttered something incomprehensible. Naegi turned to see her face perfectly molded into shock.

The gentleman and Kirigiri’s eyes met, and he scrutinized her in silence.

…

“Grandfather.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsubasa Igarashi: Kanji meaning: Wing of fifty storms.   
> Akiyama Shizuka: Kanji meaning: (literal) Autumn Mountain Scent
> 
> Next chapter should still be Turn back the pendulum, but if you have any violent objections, please voice them out.


	4. Neutral Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH my god.   
> I am sorry for the immense delay.   
> I am utterly swamped with work, and my midterms are coming up as well, not to mention if i do well, a trip to europe is on the line, which means i have even less time to work on chapters (that logic is screwed up but please bear with me.)  
> Good news: Now i have a clearer vision of the plot.  
> Bad news: Don't expect the next chapter to come any quicker.

**FUTURE FOUNDATION: MESS HALL**

"Well, that was surprising." Asahina whistled as she tucked into her serving of stew. "I didn't know Kirigiri-san had a grandfather!" The five survivors had assembled in the large mess hall shortly after being discharged.

"Of course she had a grandfather, the surprising thing is he's still alive." Togami buttered a small slice of bread. "Millions dead outside and by some freak miracle some old geezer's alive? Definitely not an accident."

"I mean, it's one thing to have your father the principal of Hope's Peak, and now she's got a grandfather right at the very top." Hagakure scratched his head. "It's nepotism gone crack."

Naegi remained silent as he mulled over the events of the past hour. _Another stark reminder how little I do know about her._ The thought that she was still hiding things from him was to be expected, but it stung all the same.

"So, obviously he's one of the head-honchos." Genocider ate with her fingers as she rambled on. "But does anyone else have a freaking clue what's going to happen to us next?"

"I think I recall something from the head doctor earlier." Asahina scrunched her lips in thought. "He did mention something about going into fifth division to facilitate the recurrence of our memories."

"Good, then I'll find the people responsible for this mess." Togami snapped. The knife he held felt cold and dark in his hand, as he stabbed a piece of meat.

_"Fifth division governs people afflicted by despair, though I can't say I approve of their methods." What methods would they be, I wonder..._

He was just about to rejoin the conversation when he caught sight of Kirigiri walking in.

Aberrantly, Naegi set his fork down. "I'm finished. I need to go."

"Eh? Where to?" Hagakure's head lolled a little to the right.

"Someone wants to speak to me." He instinctively lied. "I'll be seeing you." Picking up the tray, he quickly made his way into the disposal bin and shoved the contents inside. Wordlessly, he exited the mess hall at a brisk pace.

Two eyes bore at his back throughout the entire journey.

*************************

He regretted it twenty seconds after he made the decision to leave.

 _What am I doing? Why should I have to leave because of her? That's just mind-numbingly immature._ He screamed internally at the potential ramifications his actions had. _Naegi's thoughts at once shifted back to the time where Kirigiri once refrained from entering the cafeteria when he was inside._

_...oh. Well, let her have a taste of her own medicine._

**_Attaboy. Let the hate flow through you._ **

Cheering up slightly at the thought, he had his legs carry him aimlessly throughout the corridors.

 _But then again, she did apologize._ He conceded. _And then began trusting me more._

**_OH GOD, SHE'S JUST USING YOU!_ **

_OK, now you're getting delusional. All my efforts to help her were purely voluntary._

**_What about after the fourth trial?_ **

_...Except that. But once. Once._

He turned into a corner and stopped short. The golden eyes of Alice Nineheart stared back towards him.

Nineheart took the cigarette out of his mouth. "I was told you had an appointment."

 _How did he...._ "I do."

"Then why are you heading for the trash room?" Nineheart asked.

"...I was lost." Naegi managed.

Nineheart drew a measured breath. "I have no time for liars, they make information imperfect and hinder communication." He leaned forward, and raised the cigarette an inch from Naegi's chin. The acrid stench of smoke wafted into his nostrils, and Naegi instinctively backed away. "You seem like a reasonable person, so I'll make myself perfectly clear: When I ask a question, I demand the true answer. I will not ask questions unless they are absolutely necessary, but if I find out you lie to me, and be assured I have my methods, you will find yourself in a very precarious position. I don't care if I have to resort to torture if the information's vital, and you prove to be an obstruction of my work. Clear?"

Naegi gulped. "Why should I-"

"Is that clear?" Nineheart backed him against the wall, the cigarette now hovering over Naegi's eyelid.

"Y-YES Sir!" Naegi gasped. Nineheart stared back, as if considering whether or not to push the cigarette into his forehead for good measure. Finally he allows a small smirk.

" _Sir_ is for my boss, you may address me as Alice, or simply Nineheart." He retracted the cigarette, and took another long drag. "I'll consider the fact that you avoided contact with Kirigiri for possible future reference, but for now, I have other things to attend to."

Once again Naegi could not help but feel amazed at how he acquired such knowledge of his actions. Nineheart took one look at him sweating bullets and his eyes narrowed.

"Allow me to clarify. I can prove to be a dangerous ally or enemy, and it is entirely your choice."

"Question. How did you know I avoided Kirigiri?"

"I thought the only person that would be this nosy would be Byakuya or Kyouko." A dangerous glint crept into Nineheart's eyes. At once, fear began surging into Naegi's blood. "Watch your boundaries carefully, Makoto Naegi."

He extinguished the cigarette and cricked his neck. "I'll require your cooperation for now, my boss wants to meet."

"Your... boss?"

Alice looked at him hard. "You didn't think I act purely out of my own interests, did you?"

***********************

**FUTURE FOUNDATION: PRIVATE DORMITORIES**

"Wait a minute." Nineheart paused midway, and took out a black bow tie. "I assume you know how to put this on."

"I-I do, but-"

"Shut up." Nineheart expertly tied it around Naegi's neck and appraised him top to bottom." Good enough." He decided.

_Knock knock knock._

Nineheart stood outside a beautifully furnished oak door, and finally did the buttons that were undone directly underneath his neck.

"I would assume this is Kirigiri's grandfather I'm going to meet?"

"You wish."

Nineheart unlocked the door, and beckoned Naegi to enter in silence.It was an old fashioned room, rather smaller than the size of an average hotel room, and most of the space was occupied by a large writing desk, where a  bald man in a wheelchair was reading in silence.

"Sir, I've brought Naegi as you requested." The man merely raised a gnarled finger as if to say _'give me a moment'_ , then turned to get a better look at the two of them.

 _Holy crap._ Naegi recoiled in surprise.

'Disfigured' would be a kinder term to describe the man that sat before them. His reformed skin was taut, and littered with reddish marks, with the curious consistency of paper that looked like it could crumble easily at Naegi's fingertips. All of this masked the wrinkles he had accumulated through his old age, and the only hairs on his head were accumulated in a small mass above his eyes.

"Thank you, Alice. You may leave." Nodding curtly, Nineheart exited the room, leaving Naegi alone with the handicapped old man.

"Naegi, was it?" He attempted an inviting smile, but it on all counts had the opposite effect. "Please, sit." Naegi reluctantly slipped into the armchair that smelt strongly of musk.

"Cup of tea?" The man brought over a tea set.

"It's all right, thank you."

After pouring himself a cup, the man scrutinized Naegi blankly for a moment. "I don't think we've ever been properly introduced, so I'll take the liberty of doing so. You may address me as Miyazaki.”

 **Ichiko Miyazaki** イチイ子宮崎

Naegi laughed nervously. “Your officer’s a little scary.”

“Alice can be a little unnerving.” Miyazaki stirred the tea and took a great sniff. “But it helps when you have something to keep him under my fingers.”

“Your…fingers, sir?”

“Just a figure of speech, brat.” The two descended into sour silence, as the warlock sipped his tea. “Now, to business. I’ll get straight to the point, here.” He smiled. “It was good to see the head of SHSL Despair kick the bucket, and at your hands. People’s support have grown exponentially for you the past few weeks.”

“You flatter me, sir.”

“No, I don’t do that sort of thing.” He waved it off, and out of the corner of his mouth a single drop of spit started dripping out. “That’s just the current state of affairs! SHSL Hope, you are the light that would bring us to the new future. One ridded of despair, made stronger with will, time and fate, spurred on by the thesis of hope and talent.”

Naegi blinked. “Excuse me, sir?”

“Talent!” Miyazaki egged him on. “You possess the correct mindset the people need.” He reached forward, and Naegi resisted the urge to gag as his fingers gripped his chin. “Respectful of superiors, strong sense of justice, a desire to return things to the way things were before.”

“The way things were before?” Naegi frowned.

“Enoshima had her fun in turning the world upside down, but it’s time to do the cleaning up here. Things need to return to the way things were, with order for the government.”

_Something is very wrong with this old man._

“Sir, I don’t condone what Enoshima did, but there must be a reason why people could easily turn into SHSL despair, and ravage the world-“

“Precisely.” Miyazaki clapped his hands and revealed his yellowing teeth. “They’re cutting all of the roots of humanity’s survival. Kid, do you know what’s the state of North Korea? Other than Denial, of course.”

“… I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“Let’s just say, Korea is no longer Korea.” Miyazaki spat. “Insurrection unlike anyone has ever seen. You see it’s like the emperor and his new clothes. People are afraid to speak out and take the risk, living life in someone else’s terms. But along comes a child who sees the truth. What does the child do, kid?”

“He speaks the truth.”

“Yes. He is disaccustomed and unclear of such rules, such beliefs, and he points out what he thinks and what everyone has been ignoring: that the republic of North Korea is quite honestly stupid, that they’re being mocked like idiots around the world, and that they are going very far behind than other countries.” He sets the teacup onto the edge of the table.

“Say, however, that the boy is mischievous. He distorts truth, manipulates information, letting someone else do the job. He’s a mastermind sitting on the backseat. And like dominoes…” A gentle prod of the finger, and the teacup is airborne.

As Naegi flinched at the crash, Miyazaki went on: “To be honest, it’s a good thing they’re gone, leeching off the efforts of others, but the effects are clear: SHSL Despair needs to be dealt with. They’re tired of life, and they want to drag the world down into the depths of hell.”

“And what is it you want me to do?” Naegi finally asked.

“I offer you a proposal, kid.” He wiped the growing line of drool on his left chin. “For the good of the Future Foundation, you will be the face of my New Regime.”

“REGIME?”

“Hope, and all its constituents. You will begin work, representing me, meeting the plebeians; give them the magic mumbo jumbo that turns them from a mind of despair to hope.”

“Mumbo Jumbo?” Naegi flared angrily. “Sir, you can’t just magically turn people’s mindsets from despair to hope.”

“Whatever you call whatever you do, then.” Miyazaki snapped. “We’ve had enough, to be honest, people blaming each other and just… destroying our means of survival. It’s disgusting. This can’t go on, surely you can see that.”

“Well, it’s not their fault, sir! I think we can both agree Junko Enoshima is to blame.”

“Of course, but what’s done is done. She’s dead, SHSL despair remains.”

“Once you’re done and order is restored in the world, you shall be free, rich, acclaimed as a hero by the mass republic.”

_Me? …A hero?_

Naegi contemplated the thought seriously before a horrid thought occurred to him. “And what are you going to do while I do this?”

“I shall be your mentor, and teach you everything you need to know about leading others. You shall be the face of a new generation, kid, and people are going to follow your every words, your every idea. I can guarantee, by the time you’re done with me, you’re going to have influence and power beyond your wildest dreams. What do you say to that?” He snapped his gnarled fingers impatiently.

"But why do you need me? Can't you do it yourself?"

"In this state?" The man grimaced as he felt his reddish brown skin. "What can I do in this condition? That's why I would like you to represent me, as you change the world for the greater good.

“…The greater good?” Naegi blinked. “I can have the influence required to change the world?”

“Yes, kid.” Miyazaki leant back. “And I can give it to you: the power to break the world, or change it.”

The bow tie seemed to constrict itself around Naegi’s neck, and as Naegi contemplated his words, he could have sworn he heard a small crackle of static.

******************************

Alice jammed the headset further into his ear to make sure he wasn’t hearing things.

 _“I can give it to you: the power to break the world, or change it.”_ The flavoring of the nicotine gum seemed to be wearing off, and an intense bitterness permeated his taste buds as he realized the gravity the words his superior offered carried.

 _You’re kidding me._ Alice thought as he rapidly made notes on his laptop. _It’s only a few days since he’s been here, and now Miyazaki’s discussing politics already?_

“Nineheart, I’ve got the documents you needed.” A blonde man waved a dossier, seemingly oblivious to the slashing movements Alice made under his neck.

“What?”

“ _Fuck off._ ” Alice mouthed.

The man cocked his head in incomprehension. Giving up, Alice took the stapler on his desk and threw it at the man in frustration. Getting the idea, he hastily threw the dossier onto his desk and hurried out of the room.

 _Amateurs._ It was lucky that the accessory around Naegi’s neck only contained a microphone, with no receiver. _Otherwise months of work would be reduced to nothing._

The speaker crackled to life, and he excitedly leaned in to hear his response.

_...Huh?_

As Naegi continued his response, Alice's eyes raised a fraction of a millimeter. Finally, he howled with laughter at the hilarity of the situation.

 _Interesting._ He thought, still chuckling, as he added another note on his little black book. _Naegi Makoto has either done something very heroic, or very stupid._ Nineheart hid a grin as Miyazaki ejected Naegi from his room, his speech unusually peppered with choice swear words.

Sure enough, a minute later, the telephone on his desk rang shrilly.

"So, boss." Alice feigned a voice of apathy as he picked up the phone. "How was the meeting with Makoto Naegi-"

"He's just as insufferable as I remembered!" Miyazaki snarled. "Stupid, as well!"

"So, the business deal went south?"

"Intolerable. Nineheart, new assignment. I want you to find out everything that can be found about this boy. I want his secrets, I want his enemies, I want his friends, I want to make him regret this fallacy!"

 _Regret this fallacy..._ He repeated as he jotted it down on the little black book. "And how is this supposed to achieve your goals-"

"In addition. Put him in a bad light, start a fucking smear campaign for god's sake."

"Smear campaign?" Alice frowned. "For what? Sir, he's a kid. A grown man initiating a smear campaign specifically against him would be asking for trouble. How immature would that seem to the public?P

The man's breathing finally slowed. "Keep him under surveillance, then. Find anything that can be used against him."

"Yes sir." He set the phone down, and cracked his fingers in anticipation. He knew Naegi may have possibly made one of the most stupid decisions in his life.

_The best part? He doesn't know it yet._

He opened the dossier that was thrown onto his desk and quickly perused its contents. His face soured as he read further.

_It seems Akiyama is still mum about the project she's working on. No matter._

***********************

**_You made him pretty pissed. It's going to bite you back, I guarantee it._ **

_Gee, thanks._ Naegi glumly walked back to the cafeteria. _It's not my fault in the first place! I was just scared at the thought of working under him._

**_You didn't read between the lines, didn't you? He's making you a puppet emperor._ **

_EMPEROR?_

**_Quick fact: Dowager Princess Cixi of China ruled behind the curtains under her son, Puyi. He held no power at all over his mother: his title was merely a title._ **

_So I did the right thing!_

**_No. The right thing to do would be to maintain your neutrality. With what you just said to him, you might as well have declared war._ **

Unsettled at the thought, Naegi was making his way down the stairs when he was sharply grabbed from behind.

"Naegi-kun."

"K-Kirigiri-San?"

"Is this a good time?"

"I guess so. OK, look I'm- when did you get a change of clothes?"

Sure enough, Kirigiri had discarded her lavender jacket and replaced it with a form fitting black suit, her gloves firmly remaining on her slender hands.

**_Ba-dum. Ba-dum._ **

"I received it from the logistics division." She said simply.

"Um.... Ah um?..." Naegi stammered as he stared longer and longer. "You look... very nice in that."

"Oh." Kirigiri looked away. "Thanks, I guess."

A beat of awkward silence bounced between the two, as Naegi finally detached his eyes from her attire.

"Anyway, My grandfather wants to meet you." Kirigiri muttered.

"I don't think I can survive another meeting with someone else in charge." Naegi gasped.

"Why?" Kirigiri frowned. "My grandfather is a reasonable man."

_It's not about being reasonable. It's the fact that I peeped at his granddaughter for god's sake._

"Shall we go, then?" He was just about to protest until Kirigiri slid her gloved hand into his. Without another word, she brusquely escorted him back to the dormitories, and Naegi prepared himself for the worst.

**********************

"Grandfather? I've brought Naegi."

The room was just as simply furnished as the previous one, with the exception of several odd contraptions placed haphazardly throughout the room. In the very middle of the room, Kirigiri's grandfather was examining a photo frame when they came in.

"So it would seem." He glided across the room, his electric purple eyes boring into Naegi's own. "Long have I desired to meet you, my dear boy."

 _Yeah, I bet._ But the man was courteous, his hands were warm as they took Naegi's in good grace.

"Shall we?" The man good-naturedly gestured to the couch.

"If you say so, sir." Naegi and Kirigiri both sat down.

"Actually, Kyouko, I was hoping for a private conversation with him." The man cleared his throat.

"What?" Kirigiri's eyes furrowed. "But-"

"Just a private conversation, please." For a moment, she stared back at her grandfather, a silent conversation Naegi could only hope to understand.

"Fine. Do as you like, then." Tucking her hair back, she silently walked out.

"She's always like that." Naegi sighed as the door clicked shut.

"Always like what?" The man sat down, giving him a searching expression.

"When she doesn't get her way, she tends to... Um..." Naegi struggled for the right words.

"Sulk?" The man offered.

"Yes, sulk!" Naegi clapped his hands in understanding. "I mean, normally she's very calm and collected, and she still is, but she doesn't admit she's unhappy with people!"

"Very astute, young one." Kirigiri's grandfather nodded. "Unfortunately I cannot contribute very much to this discussion, I only see her every once in a while."

"Oh." Naegi slightly apologetically bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

The silence that followed wasn't awkward: both spent time examining each other.

"Um... Are you a detective as well?" Naegi finally asked.

"...I was once."

"Kirigiri-San did say she came from a long line of detectives." Naegi reasoned.

"It certainly was the main trade we are known for, I'll give you that. But I have long since retired, and have spent a majority of my remaining years traveling abroad."

"I see."

"You're very polite, Naegi."

"Oh, um... Thank you, sir."

"Which is why I struggle to comprehend your actions in the bathhouse. Are you by any chance a voyeur? "

"That's-" Naegi stammered, his face going beet red. "I really don't know either, sir, I never knew I had such ambitions in the first place, I'm sorry please don't tell Kirigiri-San!"

The man scrutinized Naegi's pleading face with amusement.

"My granddaughter is strong enough to manage her own personal relationships, so I won't comment on it just yet."

"Oh." Naegi exhaled. "I can't begin to thank you-“

"Don't thank me, Naegi. When we discussed about you in detail, I found out she already knew about it from the very beginning."

... _Oh dear._

"Well, that's enough about my granddaughter." The man's tone shifted to a business-like manner. "What I would like to bring to light is the- that's a very nice bow tie. May I see it?"

Naegi was struck by the abruptness of the request, but proceeded to remove the bow tie in silence. The man took one look at it before unfurling the flaps in silence for Naegi to see.

"That's a microphone." Naegi gasped.

"So it would seem." He made his way to the washing basin and turned the tap on, throwing the bow tie into the pool of water. "Nineheart gave it to you, I presume?"

"... He did!" Naegi finally understood Nineheart's actions in horror. "Sir, I swear, I didn't know-"

"Calm your hats, it's alright." The man returned to his seat. "But you should be more careful in the future, especially around him."

"Why is he allowed to do this?" Naegi frowned. "There has to be a limit."

"His skill in gathering information is astounding, be it in espionage or writing simple reports." The man informed him. "He was the among the first to correctly deduce who was the root of all despair in the incident: but even then it was too late. The 78th class of mutual killing took place." He paused for effect. "All of this comes with several conditions: his methods are not to be questioned, and his personal history is not to be brought up."

The more Naegi heard about this man, the more he associated him with a spider in nature.

"How long have you worn that?"

"He placed it on me before I met Miyazaki."

"You met Miyazaki?" The man's expression soured. "What did he say to you?"

"He gave me an offer to be his representative. But I declined. I planned to do what he offered myself."

The direction of the conversation seemed to have taken a grave turn.

"I see... This is very enlightening." He chuckled. "It seems not even Nineheart trusts him to hold his end of the bargain. But you don't need to know about that. Well, now that we are free of all other listening ears, it's time to get to business."

"What is it you need of me, sir?"

"Essentially, you'll be in my protective custody. You will be given free reign, but under constant supervision in your efforts to create a better future. Whatever you need, we shall provide, and support."

Naegi blinked.

"Sir, I'm beginning to think that I'm being used as a political tool."

"Indeed? Do explain."

"Miyazaki offered me essentially the same thing, and I couldn't help but feel like he's trying to gain more support from the public after they see me working under him."

Kirigiri's Sr's eyes widened. 

“… It would be hypocritical for me to deny it, I guess. We’re not on very good terms, I’ll give you that, but make no mistake: my intentions are focused mainly onto the well-being of others.”

Naegi rubbed his eyes in weariness. “By reforming the world, you mean…”

“There’s a specific procedure we are working on.” He went on. “First we stabilize the country in question, this is through hostile takeover or just gradual reclamation. Then, we let fifth division work on their rehabilitation. Finally, we sow the seedlings of society, and a country is born again.”

“Country? How much of the world is left in despair?”

The man pursed his lips.

“With our efforts, we have managed to secure several cities within Japan-“

“How much of the world?”

“… I’m afraid I cannot speak about the state of the world beyond Japan, but the situation is dire, that much is certain. We have established connections with other resistance groups around the world, though, again courtesy of Nineheart, but it still remains grim: The world is decidedly in ruins.”

_…Good God._

“You see? You’re not going to change the world yourself: it’s unfeasible.” He said matter-of-factly.

Naegi considered the offer in silence. 

"Have you gave the rest of my friends the same offer?"

"More or less." He nodded.

"Did they agree?"

"Togami refrained from answering me directly, but the others were perfectly alright with working with me." He scratched his neatly shaved beard. "Surely you would want to work alongside your friends?"

"Of course." Naegi admitted.

"Then..." The man eyed Naegi expectantly. "Your answer?"

Naegi sighed as he racked his brains to find the most suitable way to reply him.

"It sounds very promising, and I wholeheartedly agree with your ideas. But..." Naegi gritted his teeth. "I don't want to be on anyone's side at the moment. Kirigiri-San thinks highly of you, I know, and I can see why, but I'm uncomfortable with picking sides. I'll work for both as long as they both coincide with my goals."

"We do work together." The man frowned.

"I'm sure you do. But... I just think that this is something I want to do by myself. I think it's best for me if I work solely by my own motivations and ideas."

"You're crazy." He scoffed. "A man cannot save the entire world."

"I don't plan to." Naegi countered. "I just want to maintain my neutrality within all this. Maybe I can get everyone to work well together, without bias."

The man gazed at Naegi with such an intensity he sank further down the couch. The grandfather clock in room ticked quietly.

"Your ideas remind me of my son-in-law." He finally spoke.

_Son in law? That means..._

"Kirigiri's father? You're Kirigiri-san's _maternal_ grandfather?" Naegi gasped.

"You didn't think she inherited her detective skills from her Jin, did you boy?" The man stood up. "Very well. I cannot force your decision, but my offer stands."

Naegi heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you sir. I'm glad I could get through that I wanted to remain neutral in my efforts."

Kirigiri Sr. examined a luminescent butterfly held firmly in a frame. "Of course. You may take your leave."

Legs numb, Naegi shakily made his way towards the door, when Kirigiri sr. called: "Young man."

"Yes sir?" Naegi's head popped back into his room.

"Word of advice." The man leisurely rubbed his eyes. "Keeping your distance from her is not going to get you any closer."

"... I'm sorry?"

"You may not realize it, but you should reconsider your motivations in turning down my proposal. Perhaps they are not as out of lofty goals as you think, but more... _libidinous_ in nature."

Clearly being dismissed, Naegi closed the door in puzzlement, still mulling over the old man's words.

**************************

"RIGHT! LISTEN UP!" Kazama called as the group of 6 survivors quietened down.  "As head of logistics, now it's my duty to inform you of your living arrangements. You'll be paired and sent to rooms with bunks, and the pairings, of course, is strictly same-gender." Naegi could have sworn he whispered _Damn_ under his breath, but he moved on.

"So we have several living arrangements done out for you, please voice out any violent objections, and it will do my best to inform you that the decision is sadly final, but there will be opportunities to switch in the near future. So, drum roll please." He extracted a small slip of paper from his pocket.

**Touko Fukawa: Akiyama Shizuka.**

"E-Excuse me?!" She stuttered.

"She wants to take the opportunity to monitor and study Syo." He shrugged. "If it comforts you, however, note that you being paired with Togami was never a possibility." Ignoring her protests, he went on:

**AOI ASAHINA: KIRIGIRI KYOUKO**

"No violent objections here." Asahina nodded in approval.

"Excellent. And this is the part where it gets tricky. 3 guys, and only one pairing can be made. So, decide amongst yourself which lucky two are being held together, whilst the other stays with me."

"Not me." Byakuya immediately spat. Naegi shook his head in silence. He noted Kirigiri determinedly looking away out of the corner of his eyes.

"That leaves Hagakure and me, then! Very well."

"Don't I have any say in this?!" Hagakure frowned.

"Joining my room would be the best decision you ever made." Beckoning Hagakure to come closer, he whispered intelligible speech into his ears.

Hagakure's eyes widened. "You did what?!"

"SHUSH." Kazama grinned. "And now, you'll find your keys on the table, and Fukawa and Hagakure may come with me." Like a little dog, he bounded out of the room, a sullen Fukawa and ecstatic Hagakure joining him.

"Fair warning, I'm taking top bunk." Togami informed him as he snatched the key away.

"That's fine." Naegi muttered as Kirigiri and Asahina left the room without another word.

"That's fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up in Angel Survivors:  
> ...  
> Ha ha.  
> HAHAHA.  
> A certain high tension OVA in Angel Beats.  
> (AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA to celebrate the nearing of 1000 views)


	5. Dissatisfaction

“So, run me through your logic again.” Togami instructed as he neatly folded his jacket onto a small stool. “Kirigiri’s grandfather gave you a proposition of power within an organization set in restoring order from chaos, likely creating a new world government in the process, and being part would likely bring you great might and authority to do as you wish, **and your decision was to reject his offer?** ”

“I wanted to remain neutral.” Naegi repeated in what seemed like the umpteenth time.

“You shy away from power like a rat.” Togami sneered.

Naegi turned in his bed to get a better look at him from below. “I just didn’t like the thought of picking sides in all this. I mean, we should work together as one.”

“Save me all the ‘United we Stand’ nonsense.” Togami waved the matter aside. “When there’s chaos, there are opportunities for power, influence, wealth, standing. These opportunities are limited in contrast to unlimited human wants. Of course, there will be people who get the most opportunities, and the plebeians will flock to the ones they think sing sweeter.” Togami peered down at Naegi, one foot on the ladder.

“That, is how politics begin.”

 _Politics?_ The word bore little weight in Naegi’s mind, as he stared at the bedframe above. Besides the occasional sit-down with his father when elections drew near, politics had always seemed to be a foreign affair for him, and was a responsibility best left to adults.

“Nicely put, Togami-kun.” Naegi exhaled. “I didn’t know you studied philosophy.”

“I don’t.” Togami snapped from above. “All I recited was the very definition of scarcity, that of which every fundamental economics book should have in its very first page.”  Togami lowered his voice. “And Economics is the word.”

The wool blanket barely managed to cover his body from chest to toe, yet Naegi still felt the chill of uncertainty as his mind projected a possible future within the Foundation, and worst of all, the fact that he was (possibly) alone in his path.

“Togami.” He managed.

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to do within the future foundation from hereon?”

The teen above gave a disconcerted sigh, and Naegi could picture the self-satisfied smirk on his face already.  “What else? I am beginning the reformation of the Togami Conglomerate.”

“Reformation? Already?” Naegi frowned. “What can you do at this point of time?”

“Do you really think I’ll tell you?” Togami scoffed from above, and it was all Naegi could do not to click his teeth in sheer annoyance. “ _Fuhito_ has been kind enough to provide me with several of his subordinates who are willing to champion my cause and work for me. With his influence and my intellect, the Togami conglomerate will seize all that we can, and trade it for goods that we and the market needs.”

“… Really? This is your master plan? No offense, but I think you’re jumping the gun in the Economic department.” Naegi blurted.

“For your information, Fuhito has given my proposal full support, and he is backing my plan in full wishes of my success.”

“Did he. Who’s Fuhito?”

“Kirigiri’s grandfather.”

 _It’s only been a day, and he has the ambition-inflated balls to address a senior by their first name._ Naegi thought as he pictured the possible conversation between the two.

“He’s doing the right thing, has the mind of a good investor, I’ll give him that much respect.” Togami stifled a yawn. “And that’s enough claptrap. The night is reaching its adolescence, and I need my energy for tomorrow.” There was a rustling of a blanket overhead, and then a hand reached out towards the light switch in the very center of the ceiling.

As the room vanquished itself from its’ light, Naegi braved himself for another question.

“Togami. What do you think of Kirigiri?”

“Your imaginary love life is none of my concern.” Togami deftly answered without so much as a laugh. “Now keep your trap shut, I’m trying to get some sleep here.”

Still stinging from his last words, Naegi clamped his eyes shut, and eventually allowed sleep to seduce him with its kiss.

***

_The rumblings grow louder with each passing minute. How long has it been since I had seen the sun? How long has it been since I glimpsed the divinity of rain? How long more do we need to stay here?_

_Dissent had already begun taking root amongst us, and today, we are all in particularly bad spirits._

_“This thing should be over by now.” There was barely any force left in his snarl, as Oowada pulled back his unkempt hair._

_“I’ve heard that the government’s collapsed.” Ishimaru whispered. “The metropolitan assembly, apparently it was torn down brick by brick by the mob.”_

_“Oh, joy.” Celestia. In a rare state of peace, did not bother with the clip-ons or greasepaint today, and raised a dignified hand in support of her head. “What are they saying about that?”_

_“Apparently, there was a lot of corruption seeping in the veins of the government. Particularly,” Togami gave a glare towards the only adult present in the corridor. “within the department that funded Hope’_ _s Peak Academy._ _”_

_There was no telling of how quickly the atmosphere turned dark, as the harsh lights brought the gradients of age on Jin Kirigiri into sharp relief._

_“Headmaster.” Naegi noted her disinclination to address the man as ‘father’. “I believe it’s time you owe us an explanation.”_

_Jin took one long look on his daughter’s face, and replied, “Your guess is as good as min-“_

_“BULLSHIT!” Leon cut in, and the 78 th class erupted into tumultuous anger and indignation. The hot-headed swore, they berated, the worn-out feebly mumbled words of dissent as they surveyed the chaos around them, and the ones that still remained calm?_

_“Enough.” Oogami forcefully set Leon down beside a still Maizono. “Fighting here won’t get us anywhere.”_

_“WE AREN’T GETTING ANYWHERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Fukawa pointed out, in a rare moment of lucidity, which Leon and Oowada received with a thunderous roar of approval._

_“Those people have been outside for days.” Enoshima mumbled, her sing-song tone unusually absent. “This is most despairing, decidedly despair-inducing despair distributed despairingly amongst despair-opposites due to days, days, days of despair.”_

_Kirigiri’s eyes narrowed as her father saw fit to continue. “As you all know, this is all due to the actions of SHSL Despair.”_

_“No shit, Sherlock.” Enoshima muttered._

_“IF I MAY CONTINUE IN PEACE AND SILENCE-“_

_“Tall order, seeing the state of things.” Celestia sardonically picked her sleeve._

_“Amen to that, Celes-san.” Leon raised his fist for a fist bump, and soon put it down when he figured out even in threat of death there was no way on earth she was about to degrade herself to that level._

_Jin uncomfortably adjusted his necktie, and dabbed at the rivulets of sweat quickly precipitating down his forehead. “This incident began with an event.”_

_“Headmaster, I believe we should go somewhere more fitting for this explanation.” Kirgiri took out a silver key from her waist pocket, and as the lights danced onto the lustrous surface, whatever color was left in Jin’_ _s face dissolved._

 _“_ _Fifth floor._ _” Kirigiri wore a small smile of victory contrasting her father’s abash as the onlookers looked between the two in confusion._

 _“_ _Fifth floor_ _’s been barricaded for a long time.” Ishimaru frowned. “Due to a gas leak, I think-“_

_“Fifth Floor was barricaded as it was the scene of a crime.” Kirigiri cut in. “A crime so heinous and impactful that I think it would be wise to coin it simply as: The Tragedy.”_

_“Understatement of the year!”_ _Enoshima trilled._ _“‘Worst, most despair-inducing incident in the history of mankind’ seems much more fitting. Don’t you think, Sayaka-chan?”_

_Maizono scarcely heard her, and Chihiro raised a tentative hand towards her back as she buried her head into her knees._

_“I rest my big fat case.” Enoshima leaned back against the wall._

_“I think we get the point, Enoshima-san.” I finally speak up. “Kirigiri-san, what happened on the fifth floor?”_

_“... You should see it to believe it.”_

_***_

“It’s too tight.”

“Don’t be a prat, Togami, and I might just get you something form fitting for a change.”

“It’s not a big request.” Togami turned to get a better look at his new uniform. “Something that can fit me right. Whether it slims me down or made out of leather can come afterwards.”

“And you sir, think too much.” The driver of their escape vehicle was taking Naegi’s measurements, the cold metal of the tape digging into his raw back. “This is a logistics division, not Savile Row or John Phillips, London, or even Hugo Boss for that matter- _Naegi-kun. Back straight._ ”

Naegi did as he was told, and Togami cursed to himself as he flung the jacket off on an empty seat. “I believe you were told we had an appointment with Fifth Division later this afternoon, or did that piece of information slip from your little brain?”

The teen measuring Naegi paused. “I can see what Alice was talking about. You **are** a douchebag.”

Togami’s breathing quickened. “I don’t recall ever asking for your opinion.”

“That’s because it was Alice’s that I brought up.”

“A pathetic attempt to hurt me.”

“In comparison to the gunshot, I take it?” The roll of measuring tape rolled back with a clang, and the youthful teen ran a hand through his sleek hair. “Yeah, definitely well deserved.”

As Togami opened his mouth to retort, the teen rattled a box of pins. “Now keep quiet, and you might find your suit pin-free. If not…” he shrugged. “We’ll get to that later.” Patting Naegi on the back, the teen quickly disappeared into the storage room behind the counter.

Naegi whirled to see Togami’s foot crashing into a bare clothes rack.

“I’ve had enough of such insolence.” Togami seethed with rage. “Just because I’m not the man I used to be they take advantage of my position, they mock me, all with the illusion that nothing will happen to them in return!”

“Maybe you should start treating them with a bit of respect?” Naegi blandly put.

“In this world, you pay through the nose to get respect from someone like me.” The blonde teen paced unevenly throughout the room. “When I get my influence back, and I will, these people will simper and bow before me.”

 _Togami’s motivations… clearly misdirected._ Yet Naegi could only envy the fact that Togami had a clear objective in mind, whilst his future remained woefully redundant, vacant.

“… Togami, what do you plan to do about the people in despair?”

“Hmph, Dolts.” Togami raised his glasses with a newly-found air of dignity. “It is simple enough, once they finally regain their senses and stop the devastation, the market should be in full force, with the Togami conglomerate in full lead. They’ll be introduced to a harmonious group of individuals, Greed, Avarice and Envy, and their problems will be forgotten in a flash, as they feebly attempt to gain control.”

Naegi blinked. “You mean, you’re not going to attempt to understand their problems, their… reasons for despair?"

Togami snorted derisively. "Please. There are far better opportunities for my talents to be put to good use. Besides, once their pitiful minds are obsessed with the idea of power and money, and corrupted by greed, their problems, their memories will mean nothing." He smiled again at the sight of Naegi's face. "It's what happens, and it just so happens that _this way_ will be far more effective than anything **you** can come up with."

The storeroom door creaked open, and Yuzuru Hanyu flourished a black suit and tie into view.

"Right, that should fit you well enough." Yuzuru smiled as he made a small note onto his memo pad. "If the sleeves are too long, tell me anytime."

"Thanks." Naegi examined the suit with interest. _The last time I wore a suit was during a memorial service._ He chuckled as he remembered a fond memory of his mother teaching him how to wear a tie.

"And finally, it's Hagakure-kun's time for measurements." Hanyu looked up from his notes.

"... Where _is_ Hagakure?"

"Why would I know?" Togami huffed. "Blundering nitwit he is."

"You're already behind schedule." Hanyu frowned. "Naegi, could you please check whether Kazama-sempai is with him? They're probably in their room."

Naegi nodded, and stood from the plush leather cushion out of the fitting rooms.

Togami saw fit to return to the conversation. "So you're the Vice President of logistics. I take it you were a tailor beforehand as well?"

"Nope." Hanyu laughed ruefully. "Ice skater."

***

**FUTURE FOUNDATION: DORMITORIES**

_This should be the place._ Naegi thought as he arrived at the standard wooden door.

**_Knock knock._ **

"Hagakure-kun! Are you still in there? We need to go!" Naegi rapped the door hard. It was then that Naegi could hear a soft thumping of the walls, in time to the muffled beating of a drum.

_Music?_

"HAGAKURE. TIME TO GO!" Naegi tried again, a little louder this time, but again, it was to no avail. Exasperated, he tried the door knob, and to his surprise the door opened with a relaxed swing. As a gale of feel-good rock blasted into the corridor, Naegi's senses was burned with another queer scent that stung his eyes. _Incense?_

Naegi hastily stepped into the room, chock filled with books in every corner, and the smoke grew larger with every step he took towards the bathroom.

Preparing himself for the worst, Naegi burst into the bathroom door. "Hagakure! Are you- **WHAT'S THAT?!** "

It was the sorriest of sights, half-lit bongs littered the room with Hagakure lying spread eagled on the floor and Kazama lying in a collapsed wreck beside the bath tub, which curiously was-

"KAZAMA YUHARA, YOU'RE GROWING MARIJUANA IN A **BATHTUB?!** "

Kazama blearily looked up at Naegi, as if in a trance.

"... Is that supposed to be a trick question, or a flawed example in the theory of relativity?"

"T-there's so many things I wanna ask, but first things first: HOW DID YOU GET WEED?!"

"Never underestimate me, Naegi." Kazama waved a finger airily. "It's amazing what you can do with a bathtub, some soil, a large amount of earthworms, q-tips and good old ammonia. Hagakure, pass the bong."

"Sure thing." Hagakure said in a voice ten times higher than his own, and he wearily tossed the green bottle over to Kazama as he continued. "I've begun the feast with this charming gentleman here, who surprisingly had more experience with the glorious plant that is _cannabis sativa_ than I do." The man inhaled half the contents of the bong in a single shot. "Marvelous stuff. Have a go?"

Naegi flinched. "NO! Of course not!"

"With all due respect, Naegi-kun," Kazama breathed a sigh of ecstasy as he removed the bong from his lips. "There's nothing wrong with weed. Loads better than the god-awful stuff Nineheart was addicted to. Nicotine damages you, but weed," Kazama's eyes fluttered in a dreamy state. "-let's just say after my... 17th shot, I'm currently on a boat on the Caribbean with Saddam Hussein, and his harem, with tits large enough for me to suffocate in, and Pavarotti singing _Don Giovanni_ in the background."

"I thought it was _The Temper Trap._ " Hagakure's head lulled to the side.

"Doesn't matter, _Alea Ajecta Est_ and all that crap. So, Naegi, the offer's about to expire. Won't you join us in a rousing cigarette of joy, ecstasy and rainbows?"

Naegi felt simultaneously amazed and frustrated by the philosophers' pragmatism, and was momentarily lost for words.

"No?" Kazama shrugged. "In that case, would you mind going outside and change the _Temper Trap_ album into a Bob Marley CD? Anything by that man's lovely for this situation."

"Hagakure, get up." Naegi hurriedly dragged the 20 year old up to his feet, and Hagakure wobbled slightly as the world began spinning in the wrong direction around him. "We're going to be late for our appointment, and you still haven't changed yet!"

"Oh yes, fifth division, was it?" Kazama thought for a while, then began tearing leaves and flowers from the plants in a surgical fashion. "Keep that for afterwards, you'll need it."

"Shore thang, Kazama."Hagakure dribbled as he struggled to stay upright. "Hoot, this truly is a good batch, almost as good as the ones the mafia made me sell."

Kazama leisurely rolled leaf shavings into a cigarette which he promptly lit. "Speaking of which, I think I'll join you in your little crusade."

Naegi twitched as the man drunkenly limbered up.

"Why?"

"I'm genuinely interested in your evaluation results." He said simply.

"Evaluation?"

Kazama frowned.

"You mean you don't know what's going to happen? Didn't Kirigiri tell you about it?"

"Why would she?" Naegi sulked.

"Um," Kazama scratched his head. "I was actually referring to the slightly older one, and the one that's more masculine in appearance."

"He didn't!" Naegi flushed in embarrassment.

"... Why?" Kazama finally asked.

"I... sort of rejected his proposal... I guess?" Naegi shrunk under his piercing stare, the dreamy grey eyes now crackling with static and energy.

Slowly, he began to clap.

"...AND WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE TO DO NOW?!" Kazama screamed.

The sudden outburst took Naegi by surprise, and he hastily righted himself against the towel stand in an attempt to avoid collapsing under Hagakure's weight.

"You don't mean to tell me," Naegi gasped, "that everyone here is under the solicited control of either Miyazaki or Kirigiri's grandfather?"

"No, but the point is you're making a huge risk." The Philosopher shook his head. "Going under their authority automatically gives you enough might and strength to achieve the basics of basics to start changing the world as you know it, something we call _compartmentalization._ " He went on. "Granted, there are several things that are obligatory, representing people in blah blah blah, not doing anything that damages the reputation of the person you're working for, but it's a large frame, not nearly small enough to restrict free thinking and your actions. I mean, rationally thinking, if your friends like this inebriated twit over here see fit to join the group, rational thinking would allow you to make the obvious choice: JOIN. A. FACTION."

"It looks like more of a political party than anything else." Naegi managed. "I mean, I don't see **you** supporting someone and you seem to get along fine-"

"Well that's because," His pale skin tinged pink, "my job isn't just logistics."

"What do you mean?"

"It's... kind of hard to say in broad daylight." His eyes began searching the room. "For now, let's just say, I've got a considerable amount of... _associates with similar interests and shared empathy towards one another conveniently displaced evenly throughout the facility factions dabbling in the arts of quasi-corruption and pseudo-nepotism towards each other giving me leverage to do whatever the hell I want except for first division because everyone in there is pretty much Alice's eyes but his company was ill-advised from the very first place._ "

Naegi blinked.

"In short, you've got friends in high places?"

"I do prefer my way of describing it, but yes.... And more." Kazama proudly grinned. "But that's another story. OH FUCK, IS THAT THE TIME ALREADY?! Hurry up, we'll talk later." He clapped twice, and marched Naegi and Hagakure out of the disorderly bathroom. "We'll talk tonight, seeing as you chose to go with neither, I'll have to set something else for you."

That did not bode well with Naegi at all, but he held his tongue even as Kazama brashly ripped shred after shred of Hagakure's soiled attire, leaving Hagakure's chest stark naked.

"No time to go down to the clothing room, so you'll have to make do with one of mine." Kazama hurriedly tosses a hanger with a suit and clip-on tie. "Wear that, chop chop! And if we want you to smell like a human being by the time we get there, we're going to need some serious work to be done. NAEGI! Fetch the bottle labelled Eau de Toilette I have in my bathroom cupboard, no questions asked. VAMOOSE!"

Naegi obeyed, and opened the cupboard to extract the clear bottle of volatile liquid. He took a precursory sniff, and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Kazama, are you sure this is Eau de toilette-" Naegi weakly asked.

"I SAID NO QUESTIONS ASKED. QUICKLY!"

Giving up, Naegi hurried back and passed the bottle to Kazama, who was now buttoning up Hagakure's white shirt. Nodding in acknowledgment, he finished the last button and shook the bottle vigorously.

"God, I hope this works." Kazama breathed as he sniffed the bottle.

"That's not Eau de toilette, is it?" Naegi repeated.

"Eau de toilette?" Hagakure blinked.

"No. Naegi, hold his head down." Kazama shoved Hagakure onto the bed in a resounding clunk, and Naegi passively obeyed, placing both hands firmly on Hagakure's chest.

"Uh...Kazama-chi, Naegi-chi, this is bringing back rather unpleasant memories," Hagakure gulped as Kazama stood behind his long stands of hair. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Hagakure, you mentioned yesterday that you wash your hair once a month, is that correct?" Kazama steeled himself.

"With fabric softener! Lavender scented!"

Naegi flung his hands back in revulsion.

"Hands back on his chest, Naegi, and keep him down, the problem's up his head, not his chest." Kazama held up the bottle for all to see. "This... Ladies and gentlemen, is a home remedy for head lice and emergency scalp treatment, designed to work extremely fast when you're in a hurry. There's some calamansi lime juice, bleach, turpentine, Asience conditioner, lemon dishwashing liquid, honey, nitric acid and large splashes of vodka, grey goose."

_Mother of god._

"T-that is safe, right?" Naegi stammered as Hagakure began resisting Naegi's clutches in panic.

"It'll kill the lice and clean his scalp, all right." Kazama put on a pair of latex gloves. "But there might be some minor chemical burns, perfectly safe I guarantee it-"

"THIS GUY'S A LUNATIC!" Hagakure screamed.

"Hold still, and this will be over in a jiffy." He surgically rubbed his hands full of the odious ointment. "Naegi, best close your eyes, this is not something you want to see."

But Naegi could still hear his screams.

***

**CARPARK**

"Do you know how late we are?!" Togami snarled in the front seat as Naegi clambered in after Kazama.

"We had a spot of an emergency in the form of Hagakure's hair." Kazama whistled, clearly pleased with himself.

"IT'S STILL STINGING." Hagakure complained, his hair now completely crumpled and reduced to locks of dirty brown lengths of tough rope.

"Stop scratching and maybe it won't bleach white." Kazama matter-of-factly told him. "Anyway, with hair like that, they would never let you inside 5th division. Yes," he nodded to the driver, "we're ready to go."

Giving a thumbs up, the driver started the modest car and within minutes they were traveling underground, and Naegi squinted through the dim lighting to make out the surrounding scenery. Having driven through these parts before, Kazama shared no interest in sight-seeing unlike the other three, and resigned himself to humming the _levan polka._

"This whole place's subterranean?" Togami ventured.

"Not all of it." The driver, a man in his forties replied. "Air quality's deteriorated, it's true, but it's slightly better underground. You see, future foundation's main headquarters, they're focusing a lot on the living environment here, so we're doing our best purifying the air outside with what we have, and so far, it seems to work. This place has considerably better air quality than the outskirts of town."

"Where do they get the air purifiers?" Naegi's eyes furrowed.

"Most from the Touwa group, but we do have an R&D sub-division in the Fifth _and_ Second, the former inventing more efficient solutions such as better chemical catalysts to put in our air purifiers, and the latter inventing weapons."

"Weapons?" Togami looked up, interest creeping within his voice.

"Course." The driver nodded. "Fastest way to get a city in control is with force, and there's the fact that we could be attacked any day now, so we've been stockpiling weapons in case of an emergency."

"Sorry, if I may interrupt," Naegi paused as the driver began moving uphill. "How large is the future foundation, exactly?"

"It's the biggest resistance group in Japan, s'all I can say for certain." The driver scratched his beard. "Roughly 200 strong."

"200 strong?! That's far too little!" Togami snapped.

"200's the number of people in this district, our headquarters. We do move from city to city, but the headquarters' location remains unchanged." The driver added. "Once we decided that the city's stabilized, we leave some of our personnel here to commandeer the place, give living arrangements for the ordinary citizens, and see to their needs as well. So, we're always recruiting in a sense."

Even so, Togami slunk back into his seat, clearly unsatisfied. 

"By the way, what exactly is it that we're going through over there once we arrive?" Naegi finally asked. The question had been nagging at him for the past hour. "Just **evaluation** doesn't say much."

The humming came to an abrupt pause.

"... Let's just say, it's the first step in getting your memory back."

**FIRST DIVISION: OFFICES**

Alice was in a foul mood, and he clearly let it show.

"Are you telling me, that even after I gave you free reign, you **still** cannot discover this project Akiyama's working on?"

"Sir, hear me out." The workman pleaded. "I couldn't gain access to that part of third division at all!"

"Then sneak in. Take a arc welder and a bottle of kerosene, get a drone in the room, hack into it, there's so much you can do! " He _hated_ not knowing. Ignorance was _loathsome_.

"Sir!" Horrified, the workman protested. "That's unethical!"

"Don't get me started on ethics, it just gets in the way of the job at hand." Alice rummaged his pockets for a stick of gum. "You were given a task, a simple task, find as much information as you can about Akiyama's project and don't get caught. And what do you give me?" _The gum wasn't there_. "A 1 page report telling me about the wonderful security and the state-of-the-art technology they have guarding the laboratory. This," he waved the dossier, "is bullshit."

_Where's the gum?_

"You can't expect me to break in!"

_Oh, it's here._

Alice popped a white block of candy into his mouth and stuck it against his gums. Quickly, the feverish feeling diminished, and his breathing slowed.

He sighed in resignation.

"Fine. Get out of my sight."

The workman looked up.

"Sir?"

"Get out. You proved yourself incapable, and so I'm never sending you out on recon again. You're demoted to E-8. We can put you somewhere near your level, like brewing coffee or cleaning the data center or some other shit." Alice calmly pointed towards the door.

"Y-yes, sir. Thank you sir." The workman extended his hand forward in farewell.

_God, this guy's a moron._

Resigned, Alice gripped the man's hand firmly and shook once. The sweat in the man's palms travelled against his own, and Alice made up his mind.

"But always remember this: if you so much as squeak about what you were doing before in the ranks above to the people below, I don't care how many people you talk to, I will ensure that the entire group is terminated." The sweat on his hand increased, Alice noticed with pleasure. "Their blood, your hands, your choice. Clear?"

The workman nodded stiffly.

"Then fuck off." Alice relinquished his grip. "See the people outside for your new assignment, quickly now."

As the man hurriedly left in relief, Alice redirected his attention to a portrait on his desk. He and a younger boy were standing side by side, the boy still holding on to a bulging paper bag of bread.

"Why can't they all be as talented as you, Kamishiro?"He lamented aloud.

_Still, you had to go off and fucking die._

He held the portrait sullenly for a while more before smashing the glass into the desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW: Some character themes I think would suit the Characters generally  
> Kazama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA3hOQ7d8qU  
> Naegi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQZSRHnHLz0  
> Alice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUiTGFxWyUs  
> Kirigiri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SIZh49VYb8  
> 1st Division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omVAjq9aUHc  
> 2nd Division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjSHVj47LP8
> 
> So apparently you can't host pictures here. T.T So I'll have to hold on to that a little longer.  
> And my midterms are on monday.  
> VALAR FUCKING MORGHULIS.


	6. The Wizard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Chapter TIME!

Streams of sunlight leaked through an alligator sky as the car transporting the entourage emerged from the tunnel.

"Impressive." Togami mused.

"Mmhmm. We've been busy this year." Kazama nodded as he pointed to a large series of warehouses, from which lightly armed soldiers were marching out of. "Now if you would look to the left, that's the second divisions' turf. One of these days you'll have to go through your basic military training, and afterwards once you've grown tired of life, you'll have the choice to enlist and serve the country, for honor, God, glory, gold, the complete madness that is patriotism and the Virginia Company."

It was these sort of throwaway lines that reaffirmed Naegi's judgment of him that he was aberrant, hopefully so. " _Or so we have been told by the Virginia Company..._ " He mumbled tonelessly.

“You mentioned something about the Towa group just now. Do you mind elaborating?”Togami raised an eyebrow.

“Hm? Oh, yes.”Kazama scratched his head. “Well, a few months back we’ve started a trade agreement, in return for our protection services and a large area delegation, they would send us goods that we needed. Air fresheners, gas masks, electronics, and so on.”

“Area delegation?”

“They’ve built a city on reclaimed land. Towa city.”

“…And you allowed them to do such a thing?” Togami asked, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“We gave a company _control_ over a city” He corrected him hastily. “Don’t get any ideas. Basically, we’ve given them a stabilized zone: where the people have settled down, in a sense. Essentially, they’re free to do their business there, but all in all, the people really in charge?” Kazama gestured outside. “Yeah.”

“Interesting. So business can still be done even in chaos.” Togami mused.

“Every businessman’s an opportunist; surely you would understand.”

“So, I would like to visit this…city of theirs.”

Kazama sharply looked up. “Absolutely _not_. Not now, at least.”

“Why?” Naegi finally saw fit to return to the conversation.

“We’re in a bit of a situation, to say the least.” Kazama brushed one of his locks back his ear. “A bit of insurrection by children, oddly. Assisted by some unknown force.”

“SHSL despair?”Togami cut in.

“Maybe.” Kazama nodded. “Production of Air Fresheners have halted, and we’ve haven’t got any word from Kaiji in weeks. As far as I know, Alice sent a few promising people there to investigate, but he’s mum about the whole matter.”

“…This corporation’s not very good, is it? Especially if it can’t control the cities it won back.”

Naegi choked on his spit.

 “That certainly is a very cynical way of looking at it.”Kazama finally said before finally descending into a rare period of silence.

Naegi turned to Togami in silent scrutiny. For the love of him, he wished that Togami would for once not actively try and start a fight. Yet he remained coldly indifferent, as the bespectacled lion dignifiedly adjusted his sleeve.

 _So it_ _’_ _s up to me to break the silence._ He concluded dully.

“Kazama-san, what exactly do you do in the Future Foundation?”

“Oh. I oversee the daily going-ons within the facility, there’s the lodging to take care of, the daily reports, the food supplies and the goods. And I occasionally teach.”He said simply.

“…You do a fine job of _taking care_ of the goods.”

“A bloody good job indeed!”Hagakure laughed.

Kazama grinned. “Oh, come on Naegi-kun. There’s no need to be so critical. I mean, War justifies the destruction of surplus goods.”

“You read Orwell.”Togami redirected his attention back in restrained surprise.

“Very good, Togami-kun. _The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism,_ by Emmanuel Goldstein. Which may very well be a fabricated identity of the Party, but the writing is truly excellent. You must wonder, who actually written the book, if Emmanuel Goldstein truly is the Party’s target of hate? A sort of 'V' that justifies the extreme ideologies of the Party?”He paused. “I can see that I’ve veered slightly off topic, moving on: If we truly are in a state of war, why destroy these goods? Consumption of these excess goods is the practical choice! It’s pragmatism, Naegi! It’s only corruption if you don’t share with others, and I always oblige. But then one argues that my actions are privy to consumerism. Consumerism! That’s the word! Unless you give it for free, then it becomes charity. CHARITY! But what exactly am I getting at? You see, in the end, the lines between these ideas are very, very blurred, Naegi. Some devote their entire lives to distinguish the differences between vague ideas, but to no avail. Maybe there is a correct answer, but we will never reach a universal conclusion! _Quod erat demonstrandum,_ it is perfectly reasonable for me and Hagakure to indulge ourselves in the excesses of war, because a Malaysian chicken is always different from a French one, and so on."

For a moment there was a silence that rang of stunned incomprehension.

"... Am I supposed to understand the anecdote?" Togami muttered.

Kazama started laughing. "Oh, it's very simple, Togami. The theory that a Malaysian chicken is different from a French chicken lies not in biology, but philosophy. It covers the theory of the absolute, the quintessence of life, the universal idea. You might argue that when a Frenchman says 'poulet', they think of chicken, and when a Malaysian says 'Ayam', they think of chicken as well. Hence, they're both thinking of the same thing! WRONG. It's never that simple. The idea of a French chicken is different from the idea of a Malaysian chicken. While you might argue that they _mean_ the same thing through different languages, _they are not thinking about the same thing._ It is through this example that I state my argument: that there is no such thing as a Universal idea. There is no universal 'justice', there is no universal 'crime', there's no universal 'hope' or 'despair'. That my friends, is the _Poulet_ Principle; the Ayam Argument." He paused. "Hmm. I should write a book one day."

"Of course there's a universal idea."

Naegi surprised even himself with this outburst.

"Go on." Kazama recovered.

"Mathematics, for instance."

"Yes, there certainly is a branch of philosophy dealing in the area of mathematics, but it is an entirely different matter!" Kazama considered the idea. "Mathematics is something that is considered _a posteriori_ , it’s something that can be considered valid only by means of experience. Whereas the main requirement for a universal idea is that it is _a priori,_ something that’s known to be valid in advance without need of experience."

"So, you’re saying…"

"Your argument is sound, Naegi, but I would say that I don’t believe mathematics is a universal idea either. As a universal language, maybe, but that’s another page, another story.”He turned as the car lurched to a stop next to a red building under reconstruction. “Oh, fiddlesticks. We’re here already.”

Naegi peered out. “This is…Fifth Division?”

“Rehabilitation and R&D.”Kazama nodded as he clicked his teeth in excitement. “Let’s hope Akiyama’s there already!”

 _And she_ _’_ _ll be there as well._

***

Chopin's nocturne in C sharp minor was always an enigma.

Composed in the spring of 1830, yet only published posthumously, 45 years later, he wondered whether the coined name, _Reminiscence_ , was intentional on the composer's part. I mean, why the delay?

Would the piece be more appreciated if the composer is already dead? Did he already have the foresight to make such a decision?

Either way, it was to his haunting minor chords that woke Fuhito Kirigiri daily. It would always play for him, the same nocturne.

Sometimes Fuhito Kirgiri would lay still, even after the first soft chords were gently fingered, repeated, slowly cruising through the first trilling of the keys. A gentle change, a silent change in key, and he would have risen just as the piece continued.

A long draught of warm water would accompany the beginning of the second motif, and by the time the long sequence of trills began, the glass would have emptied itself, and he would be on his feet.And for the rest of the piece, he would allow his thoughts to drift to other subjects.

 _Naegi was na_ _ï_ _ve._ He thought as he gently dabbed his face with a warm towel. _But I would reserve judgment on his motivations until a later period._ The boy was confused, he would spare him that doubt.

He quickly rinsed his mouth with salt water. _And I live to see another day._

Fuhito thought about his granddaughter. _Her steely facade merely masks the girl I once knew inside._

The nocturne was repeating its’ second motif.

**YESTERDAY**

_The two surveyed each other in intelligent silence._

_“_ _It_ _’_ _s been quite a while._ _”_ _He began._

 _“_ _Indeed, grandfather. I_ _’_ _m glad and surprised you_ _’_ _re here._ _”_ _She replied._

 _Fuhito allowed her to pour the tea._ _“_ _You have much to remember, I see. We_ _’_ _ll see what we can do to get you back to normal._ _”_

_She nodded appreciatively, and through that small sliver of a smile, he was struck by her uncanny resemblance to her mother._

**_But no matter how much she wants to deny, she has her father_ ** **_’_ ** **_s nerve._ **

_He sighed._

_“_ _How are you feeling?_ _”_

 _“_ _Well enough, I suppose._ _”_ _It was an honest answer, her grandfather had expected no less._ _“_ _I am no stranger to murder incidents._ _”_

 _“_ _Kyouko-_ _“_

 _“_ _Grandfather, I can take care of myself. I_ _’_ _ve learned a long time ago how to manage my own feelings._ _”_ _She pursed her lips, in silent shame of her outburst._

 _He nodded. **She**_ **_’_ ** **_s grown._ **

_“_ _So be it, I won_ _’_ _t press the matter any longer._ _”_ _Fuhito allowed Kirigiri to finish her tea in peace, before continuing:_ _“_ _Will you work with me here?_ _”_

 _“_ _Of course._ _”_ _The swiftness of her reply surprised him._

 _“_ _Forgive me, but I was expecting some resistance._ _”_

 _“_ _I don_ _’_ _t expect you to have any ill intentions._ _”_

 _“_ _I don_ _’_ _t._ _”_ _He reassured her._ _“_ _Then starting tomorrow, I guess it would be acceptable for you to start ingratiating with the foundation. You and the other survivors will go through your first rehabilitation training before being declared fit for duty, and then we will send you on missions. Nothing particularly dangerous, as long as you watch yourself._ _”_

 _She nodded._ _“_ _This would need to be further elaborated, grandfather._ _”_

 _“_ _It will be._ _”_

_The two descended into a bubble of relaxed silence._

_“_ _So, there_ _’_ _s one more thing I would like to clarify._ _”_ _He said, leaning forward with polite interest._ _“_ _What do you think of your friend, Naegi?_ _”_

_The bubble burst._

_Kirigiri took a moment to recover herself._ _“_ _Pardon?_ _”_

 _“_ _What do you think of Naegi-kun?_ _”_

 _“_ _I heard the question the first time._ _”_ _She muttered quietly._ _“_ _Why do you ask?_ _”_

 _“_ _I_ _’_ _m old, not blind._ _”_ _A small trace of a smile etched on his cheek._ _“_ _You may choose not to answer, of course._ _”_

_It was only a moment, but he could not miss the sudden confusion, the animosity, the anger in her eyes, before it was subdued into the violet hues._

_“_ _It_ _’_ _s complicated._ _”_

 _He blinked._ _“_ _I would have expected a more straightforward answer. Did something happen?_ _”_

 _“_ _Grandfather, once again, I am confident enough in managing my own feelings and relationships._ _”_

 _“_ _Really?_ _”_ _His grey eyes twinkled with kindness._ _“_ _You seem rather cold to him, more so than towards your other friends._ _”_

_She exercised her right to remain silent; all while the tea steadily grew colder._

_“_ _I know you_ _’_ _re still young, but this is something that you need to understand how to handle. The choice is entirely up to you-_ _“_

 _“_ _We_ ' _re just **friends** , grandfather._ _”_ _A tinge of exasperation cracked her voice._

 _“_ _If you say so._ _”_ _He relents._ _“_ _Though surely you would have sensed his feelings for you._ _”_

_She reddened._

_He smiled in amusement._ _“_ _I mean, it_ _’_ _s one thing that he along with the others peeped, but you don_ _’_ _t meet a boy like that everyday._ _”_

_Kirigiri had become a tomato._

_“_ _I_ _…_ _I already knew about it._ _”_

 _“_ _Really?_ _”_ _He had expected no less._ _“_ _You had a milder reaction than I thought. But_ _…_ _ultimately you have a greater authority over your own relationships than me._ _”_ _He nodded._ _“_ _I_ _’_ _ll leave the matter as it is._ _”_

 _“_ _Ever so magnanimous under the circumstances, thank you._ _”_ _She finally exhaled._

The nocturne was already beginning to fade just as he straightened the tie around his neck. _A little bit tighter every passing day._

Just as the final, voluminous stanza began, a staccato of knocks was rapped.

“Sir? Meeting with the others begin now.” A small voice called.

“Another 30 seconds please.” As he swung the overcoat onto his back, the final round of trills began. _The trills!_ With each attempt more subdued, as if a memory dancing at the tip of the tongue, hiding deep in the recesses of the mind. Each revisit, each attempt to look back, merely gives a shadow of what we truly saw.

_Reminescence, that fleeting temptress._

The piece finished itself, and Kirigiri stepped out.

***

“Alice’s submit a request for an operation to take place.” Wasting no time, the assistant hurriedly passed him a neatly scrawled registration form. “He says it’s of immediate priority, sir.”

“Immediate?” He perused the contests with little interest.

“This would require _quite_ a bit of manpower, though. And with our operations group already being sent to-“

“Give Alice the green light.”

“Excuse me?”

“Tell him he has my ok.” He handed the form back. “But tell him not to commence the operation yet.”

***

**5 th Division: R&D AND REHABILITATION**

The place was disconcertingly empty, devoid of life, even, before the group of 4 entered. A strong smell of isopropanol tinged the air around them, and the floors sparkled clean, not a speck of dust in sight.

"It's quiet." Hagakure muttered. "Too quiet."

Kazama began giggling nervously. The childlike sound somehow made Naegi even more uncomfortable in the barren house.

"Are you alright?" His whisper seemed to be amplified tenfold in the room.

"Sorry, I always laugh in situations like these." He took several deep breaths. "Force of habit. Rather involuntary." He looked around in the pristine nursery, and frowned. “He should be here.”

“That’s what happens when you run late.” A clear voice called.

“And there drifts a dream of autumn.” Kazama turned to greet the visitors. Akiyama and the three girls approached, looking no worse for wear.

“See here, look what I found out.” Akiyama proudly waved Fukawa closer. “I am close to altering the conditions necessary for her alter ego to come out.”

“T-That’s what the tests were for?” She stammered. “You said you were doing stem cell research!”

“I say many things.” She dismissed. “Soon, I might be able to say the words ‘chocolate’, ‘spinach’, ‘liver’ and ‘tripe’, and we’ll have a mass murderer on our hands.”

“But I-I-I DON’T WANT HER TO COME OUT SO EASILY.” Fukawa shrieked.

“Hear, hear.” Hagakure ducked behind Togami, fearful of a sudden change in character.

“Truly, my dear, you’re a marvel.” Kazama bowed. “But what’s the holdup? I came all the way down here to see an evaluation take place, taking time off from contemplating the vicissitudes of fate whilst staring at the face of God.”

“You were smoking weed.”

“No, no,” Kazama shook his head, wary of the looks of confusion on Asahina’s face. “I was staring at the face of God.” 

“Then why do I smell-“

“Can you dolts kindly get on with it?” Togami snapped. “What exactly do you mean by this is going to get our memory back?”

“It’s the _first step_ , I said.” Kazama patted him on the back. “But enough of this nonsense. Why aren’t we goin yet?”

“Oz doesn’t want to be disturbed.” She shrugged.

“To hell with what he wants.” He waved a hand airily. “And if he’s inventing something again, I want to see what.” With that, at an andante he briskly made his way down the hall, leaving the others to look at each other in blank bemusement.

Akiyama sighed.

“We _are_ behind schedule.” She admitted. “Come along, then.”

***

Halfway down the hall he heard the glass breaking.

And Again.

It came rhythmically, with a soldier’s step, and each time it was as if a cascade of ice shattered at his feet.

“Somebody’s having fun in there.” Kazama gleefully whistled.

“This place _is_ safe, right?” Asahina paled.

“Of course it’s safe, he’s probably testing a tuning fork as we speak.” Another cascade of glass shattered, and it repeated again and again even when the 7 arrived at a blue door, with a plaque plastered on haphazardly scribbled ‘Do not enter.’

Kazama entered just as another torrent of glass exploded. “Oz, is this a good time?”

Swearing loudly, the man turned, megaphone in hand-

Everyone recoiled. _His hands._

“It’s ‘Do not Enter’ for a reason.” The man further complained, oblivious to the revulsion of everyone outside.

“Well.” Kazama muttered. “So this is how you put the last shipment of glass to use.”

“I would have used it on the buildings outside, but Kirigiri was so anal about it. So I had to simply try it here.” He waved the megaphone in his hands, squinting at the people outside.

“What?” He barked. “Why do you all look like that?”

“Your hands.” Kirigiri simply said, uncomfortably averting her gaze.

“It’s just gloves.” He peeled off a small portion of the latex on the wrist to show them.

“Not everyone’s a trypophiliac like you.” Akiyama remained unimpressed.

The man shrugged. “Yeah. I get that. Are you lot going to come in or not?”

“Can you remove the gloves first?” Naegi paled.

“I really can’t see how it would affect anything-“

“3…. 2…. 1…” Kazama warned.

“Fine.” He tore them off with ease, revealing smooth, unblemished skin underneath. “Happy?”

“Why anyone would wear a glove with the image of a lotus seed pod photo-shopped on a human hand is beyond me.” Akiyama stepped inside the lab, avoiding the glass littered everywhere. “They’re here for their evaluation.”

“Oh yes, I received the memo.” He ran his hands over his gel-slicked hair, a harshly white blond that darkens Togami’s in comparison. “Come on in. Name’s Oz.”

 **‘** **Oz** **’** **HEAD OF FIFTH DIVISION: R &D**

“Is that your real name?” Asahina mumbled.

“I prefer the name Oz.” Back turned, he reached for a small broom and began cleaning as the others watched. “Simple. Monosyllabic. Easy to remember.”

Naegi picked up the megaphone. “What’s this?”

“ _Scheiße!_ Give me that.” The man wrenched it away from Naegi swiftly. “It’s still under testing.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Curiosity is a natural thing, no need to apologize. This is an improved model of my new hacking device.”

Naegi wasn’t sure he heard right. “A hacking device?”

“Yes.” Oz nodded seriously.

“This is a megaphone.” Naegi pointed out.

“Common misconception. It’s true there is a megaphone function, but this is something much greater. As with the prototype, it’s able to establish a connection with specific electronic devices depending on the stock implemented inside.” He expertly dismantled the head of the megaphone, revealing a small antenna and a multitude of wiring and chips. “Once a connection is established, I am able to issue commands, transmit data, steal data, and so on.”

“It’s bluesnarfing.”

Hagakure turned. “Whazzat?”

Kirigiri continued. “This device’s software… it’s based on the action of bluesnarfing, isn’t it?”

“Highest marks.” Oz clapped. “But unlike bluesnarfing, this does not require a Bluetooth connection, nor is it limited to phones. See.” He directed the megaphone to one of his computer monitors. “ _This_ megaphone works specifically on computers. Watch: this is a simple function.”

Placing a finger on the trigger, he fired.

As Naegi watched, the screen was suddenly awash with blue.

“Voila. Blue screen of death.”

“That wasn’t hacking.” Togami snarled.

“No.” Oz conceded. “But still deadly all the same. That is the new CRASH function. Now this is much different from the prototype, but it still has many of the original features, as well as some other ones. Like this. Naegi.” He flipped the dials, until the monitor on the side read SORE WA CHIGAU YO. “Point it at the window there.”

Naegi could not help but laugh as he did so. _Here goes._ He pressed the trigger.

**CRASH**

The glass exploded in a torrent of dust and sand.

“BREAK!” Oz chuckled. “Sonar cannon. Sends relatively powerful reverberations throughout.” Oz noted the exhilaration on Naegi’s face. “It’s good, yeah?”

“Why aren’t we funding this?” Naegi laughed.

“Accuracy is still work in progress.” He shrugged. “The prototype should work fine as it is, but new features are going to have to wait.”

“Where is this prototype?” Togami’s eyes narrowed.

“Ask Alice. Now. Enough bullshit. Let’s get this evaluation on the road.”

***

“You must understand that memory retrieval is still a highly unpredictable field of science.” They had adjourned into a small room, comfortably furnished with two couches and a variety of medical equipment.

“And memory removal isn’t?” Kirigiri asked, sitting as far from Naegi as the couch would allow.

“If your memories truly are removed, then all of this will really be for naught, wouldn’t it?” Oz was working away, comparing bottle of odd liquids against one another, all in front of a filled burette and pipette.

“So, how exactly were our memories removed?”

“That much is unclear. I’ll be needing to do some tests, see how well your brains respond to specific stimuli.” Bringing out a volumetric flask, he began releasing the clear liquid drop by drop. “Often, memories require a specific trigger to manifest themselves. Best be prepared: this serum is not a very enjoyable trip.”

_Specific trigger?_

“Ah. Perfect.” He lifted a syringe, containing a slightly cloudy gel. “This has several hormones, drugs, melatonin and a very small amount of anesthetic. Estimated duration of mind trip: 15 minutes.” Oz looked around.

“Who would like to go first?”

Panicked, the six looked at each other.

“And… Nonstop debate begins.” Kazama muttered.

“Togami-chi, why not you start?”

“I would like to see whether this is safe.”

“It _is_ safe, I can assure you-“

“Umm… I really would like to sit out on this-“

“Ladies first, Asahina-chi.”

“Fukawa, you go first.”

“Actually, I would prefer she didn’t. There are still some tests she’s going through, and… I wouldn’t want to risk having her run rampant.”

“I’ll do it.”

The 5 turned in surprise.

“Naegi-kun?” Kirigiri confirmed.

“Yeah.” _I must be crazy._ “I’ll go first.”

“Well, there’s a clever man.” Oz gestured for him to take the seat.

Inexplicably, Naegi began to sweat. Gingerly, he clambered onto the seat, trying to avoid the fervent gazes around him. _Ignore them._ He breathed.

Oz wet a piece of cotton wool with a sweet smelling liquid. “I apologize, but this is going to have to make do. The proper chemicals needed to knock you out are in very limited supply.”

“Knock me out?” Naegi’s eyes widened.

“It increases the possibility of the drugs working. Now, are you ready?”

His heart hammering against his ribs, he nodded. Oz gently held the piece of cotton wool over his nose and mouth. The pungent, nauseatingly sweet smell overwhelmed him.

“Deep breaths, Naegi. The chloroform takes a while.”

Naegi nodded, his head becoming hazier as the smell permeated his nostrils.

“Good luck, Naegi-chi.” His head was swimming... the room began to swirl around his eyes. “Do your best!” The dizziness was about to overcome him completely, and for that small moment the entire galaxy’s weight rested on his eyelids.

“Naegi.” Kirigiri finally called.

Atlas finally gave in, and the earths began crashing down.

“Be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a dilemma; whether to incorporate whole-sale the events of AE or leave it to my own imagination. but ill make up my mind.


	7. Two Betrayals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Chapter Time!

**_I journey into the darkness alone._ **

**_Floating, without weight even, maybe I couldn’t even feel pain if I could._ **

**_I am empty. I feel nothing. Not pain. Not anger. Not heartbreak. Not loss. Not avarice. Not greed. Not Envy. Not happiness._ **

**_Not love._ **

**_Instead, I have power. I have power over this place. All of this power is within my fingertips._ **

**_I feel it._ **

**_I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it_ **

**_I HAVE IT._ **

**_It grows. This exhilaration. This speed. I am hurtling between worlds I have never seen before. I am hurtling between worlds that I cannot see. I am hurtling under the eyes of gods and men._ **

**_And I fall._ **

**_Hmm?_ **

**_Yes! I fell._ **

**_Oh. But there is no floor to fall from._ **

**_Then what am I falling from?_ **

**_I landed._ **

**_This again. The electricity returns, more than ever before. Crackling in my veins, hammering in my mind, and I feel every drop of blood flying within me._ **

**_It’s time._ **

**_Without knowing which way is up, I open my eyes._ **

**Let there be light.**

**_And there came a sun. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And I created it._ **

**_Then it happened._ **

**_A hot wind buffeted him and he heard the sound of raging fires. The air was full of ash and cinders and a roar was heard throughout the universe. He was angry. He was so angry, and his eyes were full of murderous intent. The roar went echoing off the scorched corners of the world. Wonderland was being boiled alive. He wanted control. HE WANTED CONTROL HE WANTED CONTROL HE WANTED TO KILL._ **

**_As I raised my hands, prepared to extinguish the star, I saw them burn. I saw my hands dissolve into dreams and dust. All of me. All of him._ **

**Oh.**

**_There wasn’t even time to scream._ **

***

3 minutes after the injection, Oz looked up.

“Blood pressure is increasing rapidly.”

The 5 surveyed the sleeping Naegi, wondering what he was going through.

“What exactly does your injection do?” Kirigiri asked.

“It generates emotions.”

“Emotions?” Kirigiri repeated.

“I guess a more accurate description would be that it intensifies what you have already felt. Sadness turns into grief, anger turns into wrath, the effects vary from user to user.” Oz wiped his bloody hands. “By probing his mind with the specific emotive stimulus, I should be able to unearth hidden memories long lost. It _is_ a curveball, though. It doesn’t always work as intended.”

“Meaning?!” Kirigiri raised her voice.

Unimpressed, Oz continued: “My serum seems to generate the strongest feeling you’ve ever experienced before, and, if it works correctly, the memory that accompanies it. The results… can be a little extreme. Some patients take longer to fully recover from the shock.”

“You’re telling me this now?” Togami snarled.

“Easy. I said _takes longer_.” Oz tossed the rag into the sink. “What happens is… sometimes it’s happiness, sometimes it’s unbelievably serious grief. If that happens, it’s all going down to Scheiße.” He strode towards a metal fridge and brought out a bottle of water.

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t encounter too much problems in his journey.”

*******

**_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG_ **

_Naegi lurched awake in confusion. **The drug.** He remembered. **The drug’s taken effect.**_

_He looked around for the source of the commotion._

_It was then that he noted the little details around him: a pink floor, cream colored walls and the complete absence of urinals-_

**_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG_ **

_Naegi jumped and put two and two together._

**_There is no way my luck can be that bad._ **

_He walked out of the bathroom stall and looked around. **This is Hope’s Peak.** He realized. **It’s got to be.** _

**_Then why the hell am I in the girls’ bathroom, of all places?!!_ **

_He paced around, unsure of what to do. **I could simply hide.** He thought. **But they would find me eventually. The longer I stay here…**_

_“Maizono-san!”_

_Naegi whirled around._

**_No._ ** _It simply could not be true._

_“Maizono-san, are you alright?”_

_Hearing his own voice a second time was all the evidence needed._

**_The person outside the door is me._ **

_“Maizono-san, I’m coming in.”_

**_SHIT._ ** _Naegi barely had enough time to lock himself back into the stall before the bathroom door burst open._

_“Naegi-kun?”_

_The voice hit Naegi like a cold flood._

**_Sayaka Maizono._ **

_How long had it been since he thought about her. **And how long had she planned to kill me.** Her usually bubbly and euphonious voice was now dull and hollow, devoid of life._

_“I’ve heard from the others.” He heard himself say. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe what happened.”_

_Sayaka remained silent._

_He heard himself walk dangerously close into the stall next to his and sat down. “…Do you want to talk about it?”_

_“Why?” Her voice barely a whisper._

_“Right. Sorry.” He hastily took back the suggestion. “Stupid idea, really.-“_

_“Why did they have to die?”She was on the brink of tears once more. “Why… Naegi-kun, why?”_

_For a moment, the Naegi listening in the other stall had no clue what they were talking about. And then it hit him: **the murders of her fellow idols.**_

_Naegi held his head in his hands, the gravity of the situation being too much for him to take. **This is unbelievable.** He thought. _

**_I have to take a better look._ **

_Hoping against hope that it would work, Naegi crept into the stall next to him where the two sat._

_A crying Sayaka had her head in her knees, whilst a helpless, younger Naegi looked on._

_“I don’t know, Sayaka-san. I don’t.”_

_The real Naegi heaved a sigh of relief. **They hadn’t noticed.**_

_For a while, all that was heard was the gentle sobbing of the teen idol. Naegi pursed his lips._

_“Maizono, the people behind the murders will be put to justice. I’m sure of it. They’ll answer for their crimes-“_

_“THEY’RE DEAD, NAEGI-KUN! THEY’RE DEAD!” She wailed. “After all we’ve been through, they’re dead! I’ve nowhere else to go, Naegi. I’m not an idol anymore. How can I be, after this incident?”_

_Naegi remained still in stunned silence._

_“I… I did all sorts of bad things, Naegi! I ruined other people’s dreams, I shifted polls in our favor, I even acted so much for the public to like us. I… I even-“_

_“Maizono. It’s not your fault.”_

_Her lips trembled, and two grey lines of tears scrawled themselves against her porcelain face._

_“N-Naegi…” She looked away._

_“I don’t want to live anymore.”_

_“YOU CAN’T!” Both Naegis screamed at the same time. “Please, Maizono-san, don’t think such things. You have to look forward!”_

_“My future is lost! Naegi!” She said amidst tears. “I can’t be an idol any longer! I probably can’t stay in this school, I have no home to return to, and my friends-“ she trailed off midway, seeming to have lost all strength to cry._

_Naegi recognized the dull look in her eyes at once._

**_This was her despair._ **

_“Maizono, you have to live. We have to live, Maizono-san.”_

_“Why?” She whispered. “They’re all gone. My future. My friends. All was lost in just 5 simple minutes.”_

_Naegi was speechless as he thought back towards the first murder. **This was what she was hiding under that mask.**_

_Paradoxically, he became awash with guilt and shame._

_“I want to die, Naegi-kun.”_

_Out of the blue, she lunged through Naegi and opened the window outside. “I HAVE NOTHING LEFT!”_

_Naegi watched, open-mouthed as he bolted to her side and held her tightly from behind._

_“Naegi, why are you holding me back?!” She shrieked. “I just want to die!”_

_“Maizono-san, please. We must live.” He was also beginning to cry in desperation. “We need to survive, Maizono-san! We can’t give up now.”_

_“Why? Naegi, why?” She sobbed, struggling against his arms._

_“BECAUSE WE MUST LIVE!” He shouted. “As long as we are alive, we must struggle through the hard times. We must struggle through the darkness. We mustn’t lose hope, Sayaka-san.” His voice broke._

_“Sayaka, please… you’re scaring me.” And he began shuddering against her back, the tears finally flowing freely. “Don’t leave all of us.”_

_Naegi stood alone in the sidelines, and watched as Sayaka collapsed onto Naegi as a sobbing wreck._

_“Naegi-kun.” She whispered. “Please don’t leave me either.”_

_“S-Sayaka-san?”_

_“I know this is selfish, but please stay by my side for now.”_

_Naegi blinked. “I-I don’t understand, i-“_

_Naegi understood._

**_Oh, God…_ **

_“I know it’s selfish, but please… you’re the only reason I can go on.” She whispered, clinging onto him tighter. “I-“_

_“Ok.”_

_Naegi felt faintly sick as Sayaka looked up. The Naegi holding her sighed unevenly._

_“I promise to stay by your side, and have eyes for only you, for as long as this situation unfolds.”_

_“I promise to protect you to the best of my ability.”_

**_Please stop._ ** _Naegi shook his head._

_“I promise that I will never leave you alone, but please…” He whispered. “Please don’t do something like that again.”_

_The two remained still, and Sayaka began slowing in her convulsions._

_“… What am I going to tell the others, Naegi…”_

_“Just be honest.” He urged. “Only then can we help. Please don’t hide anymore.”_

**_Did I understand what I was promising? What I was giving up? Who I was giving up? Why did I do that?_ **

_“Come on. I’ll stay with you.” And with that, after drying her tears, Naegi brought her out of the bathroom, leaving nothing but his own tears, dreams and self behind._

_The Naegi in the bathroom sunk downwards in disbelief._

**_What the hell did I just promise…_ ** _It was one thing to have done it then, it might have been the spur of the moment, but Naegi knew that he had meant every word._

**_I just promised her my future._ **

_At a loss, he buried his head into his hands as the scene obliterated around him._

_***_

“Rapid REM movement.” Oz peered at the sleeping Naegi. “The drug’s in full swing.”

Kirigiri said nothing. Throughout the past 4 minutes, Naegi had occasionally shook in his seat, mumbling nondescript words.

_Just what are you going through, Naegi-kun?_

_***_

**_CAFETERIA_ **

_Nobody was prepared when the alarms rang on that day._

_When the shrill sirens blared across the school, Naegi stood stock still, watching his classmates’ confusion._

_Then the panic began._

_“What the hell’s happening?!” Leon screamed._

_Jin Kirigiri looked at the monitor in disbelief._

_“We’ve been breached.”_

_Naegi whirled around. **This is-**_

_“EVERYBODY, RUN!”_

_He did not need to order it twice: at once, people began scrambling out of the cafeteria into the open hall. As he ran, Naegi saw himself grabbing hold of Sayaka’s hand as he ran amidst the chaos._

_And then they saw them: All of them, wearing the same mask of despair._

**_It was over._ **

_Almost immediately, there was the sound of gunfire. As several of the girls in front of him screamed and ducked, Naegi pushed forward towards the others as he steered Sayaka to safety._

_“NO, DON’T SHOOT! WE NEED THEM ALIVE!”_

_“OOGAMI! WHAT ARE YOU-“ Asahina screamed as Sakura began running towards their assailants._

_“GO!” She roared. “I can’t hold them for long!”_

_“Wait! Enoshima’s behind!”_

_“JUST GO!” Sakura let off a shockwave of Ki that promptly blasted several people off their feet. But already, an assailant that bested even Oogami in size lunged forward, hands outstretched._

_“Asahina-chi, we gotta move!” Hagakure grabbed onto her sleeves and pulled her up along with the rest._

_“Guys. We need to split up.” Togami shouted as they entered the third floor. “Find whatever hiding place you can, and don’t come out!”_

_“WAY AHEAD!” Oowada heaved Fujisaki over his back and he ran off, Ishimaru in tow._

_“Kirigiri, come with us!” Sayaka called._

_“What?”_

_“Just come! We’re going up to the fifth floor!”_

_Nodding in understanding, Kirigiri swiftly followed._

_“Ikusaba-san! What are you doing, standing there?!” Naegi watched him call. “You can follow us as well.”_

_His thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion underneath their feet._

_“They’re coming!” Sayaka paled._

_“We’re not going to make it to the 5 th Floor!” Kirigiri racked her brains._

**_Just run, just run, you still have time to make it…_ ** _Naegi thought as the rumblings grew louder and louder._

_“Ikusaba-san. Please protect the both of them and yourself.” Naegi gasped._

_“What?” Sayaka turned in confusion. “Naegi-“_

_“IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO BUY ENOUGH TIME!” Naegi shouted. “HIDE SOMEWHERE THEY CAN’T REACH YOU! GO! I’LL BE FINE!”_

_“No, please, Naegi-kun, you promised-“ He turned away as Ikusaba hurried the two up the stairwell, leaving Naegi alone._

_Naegi gulped, as the footsteps came closer. **It is not the earth that shakes when they move, it is the fluttering of my heart.**_

_He closed his eyes as they surrounded him one by one._

_“UP!” A teen prodded at his body with his foot. “Get up!”_

_Naegi did so, trembling in fear in the process._

_“Dude. It’s him.” A sing-song voice gasped._

_“She’s going to be very pleased.” The teen might have been laughing behind that mask._

_“Sayaka-san, Kirigiri-san, Ikusaba-san, please be safe…” He prayed._

_***_

_“OI.” A blow quickly snapped Naegi back to his senses. “You’re being questioned.”_

_“Questioned?” He whispered. He looked around in confusion._

**_The data control room._ **

_All around him, the various assailants had gathered, silently looking on behind their masks._

_“Why are you guys doing this?” Naegi cried. “What have we ever done to you?”_

_“Oh, plenty, Naegi-chaaaaaaaaaan!”_

_Naegi recoiled at the voice._

_“It can’t be.”_

_“Dude.” The voice trilled. “This sort of reaction really borders on cliché, it’s so despairingly boring I could die!” The figure swiveled in her chair. “Nice to see you again, Naegi-chan!”_

_“ENOSHIMA-SAN!” He screamed in horror. “Why are you-“_

_“Naegi.” Her voice dropped to an almost bored, sardonic tone. “You really are starting to bore me. Look! Put 2 and 2 together to make 5! Who do you think unlocked the gates?”_

  *        **_ENOSHIMA JUNKO_**
  *        **_ENOSHIMA JUNKO_**
  *        **_ENOSHIMA JUNKO_**



_Naegi blinked. “YOU?!”_

_“Correct!” She wiggled in her seat, mad with glee. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up: I AM SHSL DESPAIR!”_

_He shook his head. “No. That can’t be right.” He stammered. “We were your friends-“_

_“TO HELL WITH THAT!” She upended the front desk in fury._

_It was too much for Naegi to handle. He always knew Enoshima was an unpredictable one, but the revelation proved horrifying all the same._

_“Why? Why are you killing all of us?” The tears were real._

_“SPARE ME.” She huffed. “Don’t be obvious. You’re going to die, but… it really depends on the weather today, you see!”_

_“You’re mad.” Naegi trembled. “You’re insane!”_

_“EHHHH??” She pouted. “Aren’t Yandere girls all the rage today? Wouldn’t you like someone crazy like me, Makoto-pyon?”_

_“You’re not going to find the others.” He desperately lied._

_“Funny you should mention that.” She snapped her fingers, and the inner door burst open. “Untie him, and let him take a look!”_

**_It can’t be. It simply cannot be true._ ** _He barely felt the pain as the razor grazed against his wrist, and numbly walked into the room._

_And then the lights turned on, and Naegi gagged in shock._

**_Oh my God._ **

_His classmates’ bodies were carelessly strewn around, and the stench of blood coming form the room was overwhelming. **Togami. Fujisaki. Ishimaru. Celestia.** He scanned the room, pleading to God that what he saw was merely an illusion, a horrible nightmare, when he saw them._

_**Kirigiri.** _

_**Ikusaba.** _

_**Sayaka.** _

_“They were surprisingly easy to find.” She went on, matter-of-factly, as if she was describing hidden Christmas presents, completely ignoring Naegi’s open horror. “I really expected more of a challenge, but this. Is. Ridiculous!”_

**_They’re all dead._ ** _The truth came crashing down. **They’re all dead.**_

_“YES!” She shuddered as Naegi turned to face her. “THAT’S THE SORT OF DESPAIR I WANT TO PAINT THE WORLD IN.”_

**_Kill._ ** _The anger overwhelmed him more so than the grief. **Kill her. KILL HER.**_

_“And now, I think it’s time for you to die as-“_

_Naegi lunged towards the pistol on the table and shakily aimed._

_“WHY?!” He screamed. “WHY WILL YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?”_

_Enoshima seriously looked at him, all manners dropped. “Why do I need a reason to do something like this?”_

_“THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS!!! THEY WERE MY FRIENDS! I MADE A PROMISE, FOR GOD’S SAKE.” His vision blurred as the people around him began to snicker._

_“Are you really going to shoot me, Naegi-chan?” Enoshima lolled in her seat. “Gotta say, if you do I’d be preeeeeetty disappointed.”_

_The gun felt foreign to him. **And Heavy.** He thought. His entire vision clouded, and he shook with utter rage and revulsion. _

_Letting out a final scream, he shot._

**CLICK**

_There was a brief moment of silence._

_Then the room burst into a gale of maniacal laughter, and Enoshima laughed the hardest of all._

_Naegi tried pulling the trigger again. And again, but no bullets were fired._

**_Stop Laughing._ ** _He wanted to scream. **STOP LAUGHING!!!!**_

_“Naegi. This really is despairingly disappointing.” Enoshima ran fingers through her unkempt hair. “You didn’t even remove the safety catch.” The room burst into mocking laughter again._

**_Oh._ ** _Hurriedly, he cocked the pistol back._

_“Ooh, now I’m scared!” Enoshima’s remark was met with more laughter from his assailants._

**_Kirigiri-san. Togami-kun._ **

**_Sayaka-san._ **

**_I’m sorry this is all I could do._ **

_Shaking with rage, he aimed the pistol once more._

**CHA-CLICK.**

_Naegi blinked as cold metal prodded the back of his skull._

_“Took you long enough, Onee-chan!”_

**_Onee…chan?_ ** _With a sinking feeling in his gut, he turned._

_The cold, grey eyes of Mukuro Ikusaba stared back._

_***_

_Naegi stared, uncomprehending at the scene in front of him._

**_Why. WHY? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?_ **

_His head swam, as his heart plummeted to rock bottom. **None of this made sense. NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE.**_

_Finally somebody took the pistol away from his fingers which had long gone numb._

_“I trusted you.” He croaked. **It had to be a mistake.**_

_Mukuro remained impassive as she continued aiming the gun._

_The laughs began anew, growing in fervor and intensity, until the room seemed to sway under Naegi’s feet, with only Ikusaba being his only anchoring._

**_IT HURTS SO MUCH. IT HURTS SO MUCH. IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HUTS IT HURTS IT HURTS!!!!! KIRIGIRI, MAKE IT STOP PLEASE!_ ** _The tears burned away at the face Maizono once loved. **MAKE IT STOP HURTING!!!!! MAKE THEM STOP LAUGHING-**_

_Naegi finally collapsed to his knees. The despair consumed him, the laughter gnawed at him, the anger corroded him._

**_Make it stop._ **

_“MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”_

_“Shut him up.”_

_At once, somebody behind Naegi clubbed him at the back of his skull._

**_And Naegi has submitted to the Countenance of despair…_ **

**_***_ **

He screamed again as he lurched out of his seat.

“NAEGI!”

**_No. Something’s wrong. Something’s-_ **

“Naegi, it’s alright. You’re back.” Gradually, his vision returned to him, and he shakily looked around.

“Are you alright?” Asahina had gone very pale.

“Are you sure you didn’t give him an overdose, Oz?” Akiyama muttered.

“Very sure.” He looked at Naegi with interest. “Are you Ok?”

Naegi ignored him as he came to terms with what he saw.

“Naegi-kun. What happened?” Kirigiri tentatively asked.

“What did you see, Naegi? It’s imperative you tell us.”

“I…” Naegi croaked. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” He hurriedly detached himself from the chair, stumbling slightly as he bolted for the door.

“Naegi-kun?!” He heard her call as he ran.

**_I can’t tell her._ **

**_I cant tell anyone about this._ **

It had begun raining outside, and the raindrops were a dark murky grey. As Naegi breathed in the acrid air, he forced himself to continue running as far as he could.

 ** _This must remain secret._**  

With this in mind, he ran.


End file.
